Wherever You Go
by funhog316
Summary: Kate makes a life-changing decision that alters everything and everyone at NCIS. But Tony's there for her every step of the way. Starting from Chapter 6 this story is now rated M.
1. Chapter 1

**This is going to be a mix of NCIS and eventually Rizzoli and Isles, but the main characters are Tony and Kate which is why I'm not submitting it as a Crossover. I hope you like it! **

Tony Dinozzo sat alone in his living room eating the last slice of his pizza. Throwing the crust back in the box, he smiled at the satisfying 'thunk'. He looked around to see his apartment a mess. Blankets, pillows, magazines, DVD's, and cereal boxes laid around his living room. Gibbs had sent Tony home for two weeks after he had the plague and after a week, Tony was going stir-crazy. He missed the job and his team mates. He missed teasing McGee and his daily hugs from Abby. He missed hearing Ducky's stories; heck he missed Gibbs smacking his head whenever he made an obnoxious comment. But most of all, he missed Kate. He missed their bickering and arguing competitions and her smile and laugh... Boy, he missed her smile. It lit up her entire face and make her hazel eyes impossibly gorgeous. Tony laid back as he thought of his beautiful coworker. It wasn't right that he have thoughts about her like this. They were coworkers and partners and nothing more. Unfortunately... Tony took a huge gulp of beer to wash down that thought. Kate didn't even like him, not in that way at least. But she did stay with him when he was ill. That said something... right...?

Tony was deep in thought, considering what his feelings for Kate were when a knock on his door interrupted him. He stood up and picked popcorn out of his hair before going to answer the door. His heart jumped with excitement when he opened the door to see Kate Todd standing there smiling at him, holding Chinese food. "Kate! I'm so happy to see you! I'm so bored. I miss you guys!" he said excitedly as he moved aside to let her in. She stepped in and wrinkled her nose at the mess. "Wow, Tony. Martha Stewart you are not." she said as she smirked at him. "Yeah... sorry about the mess. I wasn't really expecting anyone. But if I knew I definitely would have cleaned up." he said as he quickly picked up the scattered blankets and magazines from the floor. He grabbed all the DVD's off the couch to make room for Kate to sit. She sat and observed Tony as he picked up the living room, placing everything in it's right spot. She began pulling out all the food setting it up on the coffee table. "You want a beer?" Tony asked her. "Sure." Kate replied. Tony disappeared into the kitchen and came back carrying two beers, hot sauce, and napkins. They settled down to eat and Tony asked her how things were at work. "Same old. Nothing truly exciting has happened. We investigated a petty officer who murdered his friend over a package of meth." Tony shook his head. "Yeah, nothing too interesting." Kate laughed and said, "So how are you holding up?" Tony groaned, "I'm dying here, Kate. I am bored out of my freaking mind! But Gibbs said he didn't want to see me for another week..." Kate smirked, "Poor baby... Well, I might make it more interesting for you." she said. Tony looked at her and saw her looking seriously at him. "Something tells me this is not a joking matter..." he said hesitantly. Kate set down her food and looked at directly at him. "You're right, this is serious. But first I need to ask you a question: How loyal are you to the team...?" Tony stared at Kate before answering her. "Very. I would lay down my life for any of you... why...?" Kate smiled sadly and asked her next question, "How loyal are you to me?" she asked quietly. Tony thought about the question very carefully before asking, "As a woman?" Kate shook her head. "As a friend. As a partner." Tony looked directly into her eyes as said confidently, "Very. I would die for you and I'd kill for you without thinking twice." They sat staring at each other for a couple minutes. Kate was stunned at Tony's response. She knew Tony was loyal to a fault but she had no idea that he felt that way for her. "Why are you asking me these questions?" he asked her quietly.

Kate took a deep breath before answering him. "Ari is back in the States." Tony's eyes got wide. "What? How? Does Gibbs know?" Kate shook her head and continued, " No, not yet and he is NOT to know yet." Tony was about to protest but Kate interrupted before he could talk. "Gibbs will know soon. Trust me. But for now this has to be kept quiet." Tony stared at Kate. "Why? What's going on?" he whispered. "I'm going into Witness Protection Program. A couple days ago, Fornell asked me to meet him for coffee. The FBI have tabs on Ari and inside information has confirmed that his target is me. Ari has to think that he killed me so he can report back to Eli David who is the director of Mossad, who will send his daughter, Ziva David to NCIS to take my spot. Also, you will be getting a new Director Jennifer Shepherd. It will be Director Shepherd's decision to have Ziva added to the team. Tony, listen to me: Ziva is working under Mossad. Her first mission will be to kill Ari in front of Gibbs: to eliminate Ari and earn Gibbs' trust . Killing two birds with one stone... But she has to stay at NCIS for several years earning everyone's trust. And you have to let her, Tony! Please, you have to let her in. You have to let her be part of the team. It's the only way this will work. I don't know what her complete mission is but I know it's going to take several years." She stopped for a minute to let all this information sink in. Tony was speechless as he listened to Kate. She was rattling off all this information as casual as if she was talking about the weather. "Say something..." she begged him. Tony shook his head, "And you're OK with all this? Leaving behind everyone and everything that defines you... for a job that you're not even going to be working anymore. And where are you going? What's going to happen to you?" "I know its a lot, but I love this country and I love you guys and I will do anything to keep you guys safe and to serve my country. I'm going to move to Boston and study to become a Medical Examiner. Later I will work for the Boston Police Department. My name will be Dr. Maura Isles. The only people who are to know that I was Kate Todd will be my mom, my sister, you, and Fornell." Tony stood up and began pacing the room. So many thoughts were running through his head. "Do you have any idea how the teams going to be after your death?" Kate closed her eyes as a silent tear rolled down her cheek. Tony sat down and softly brushed it away. "I know. Please give Abby so many hugs. She's going to be very upset. And don't tease McGee so much. He's a good Agent. And listen to Ducky's stories every now and then. And be the best Agent you can be for Gibbs. If I know Gibbs like I think I do, he's going to blame himself for my death." Tony hugged Kate and whispered a promise to her that he'll do anything she asks of him. "Am I allowed to talk to you and see you when you move to Boston?" he said. Kate nodded. "Yes, Fornell wants to talk to you sometime this week. He'll give you my new address and phone number when I get it. And we can still see each other and talk but it has to be discreet. No one from NCIS can know I'm alive. That's why I chose you to be the one at NCIS who will know I'm still alive. I really like you, Tony. You're a good person and I... I guess you could say I've had a crush on you ." she said shyly. "I didn't want to lose you. I couldn't leave you hurting like I know you would be if you believed I had really died." Tony took her hands in his and promised her, "I really like you too, Kate. And don't worry, you'll never lose me. I'll be in your life as long as you want." he kissed her forehead and pulled her into his chest. Kate lay there listening to his strong heart beat. She closed her eyes as she thought of all the people she was going to hurt when she 'died'. But she'll always have her Tony. Tony would be there with her every step of the way. So many thoughts were running through his head but he looked down at the beautiful brunette laying peacefully in his arms and knew he would give his best work in everything he did: in his life, his job, and this new relationship with Kate. He would do anything and everything to keep Kate and their team safe. He would give Kate everything he had. His heart, his soul, and if necessary his life. He tighten his arms around her as he closed his eyes and silently promised her his world. Together they fell asleep wrapped in each other's arms keeping their secret safe and protected from harm.


	2. Chapter 2

**OK I'm re-submitting this with yet more paragraphs. I was informed I need more paragraphs, so I hope this is to everyone's satisfaction! :) **

The next morning was Saturday so Kate and Tony were able to spend the day together. They woke up and Tony made them breakfast while Kate (after much arguing from Tony) vacuumed and cleaned up around his place. He didn't want Kate to feel obligated to clean his apartment, but as he peeped around the kitchen door he couldn't help but smile at how domestic it looked and oddly, he liked it. He could hear her humming softly to herself and he knew that he was going to miss her when she left. When she became Dr. Maura Isles. What if she changed? What if she moves to Boston and meets someone better than him and she ends up loving the other guy instead? How was he going to live here in DC but be in a relationship with Kate when she was in Boston...? It was about an 8 hour drive. 'This is a test!' he realized. 'Testing me how much I can commit to someone and stay in a committed relationship with someone.' But Tony wasn't very good at long-term relationships, especially long distance long-term relationships...

His thoughts were interrupted by Kate bursting out in song as she ran the vacuum. He stood in the doorway grinning at her.

'Oh yeah.' he thought. 'She is definitely worth it! This girl is one-in-a-million...' He watched as Kate sang and danced around his living room with the vacuum. She twirled to see Tony watching her smiling. She blushed and quickly turned off the vacuum.

"Sorry... I forgot I wasn't in my own apartment... I'm sorry..." Tony went over to her and hugged her.

"Don't apologize! That was so cute." he said as he rubbed his nose against hers. "And do you have any idea how happy it makes me that you're comfortable enough to sing and dance around me?" he whispered as he kissed her neck. Kate buried her face in his neck and smiled. She pulled away and took his hands, "OK your turn now!" she laughed.

Tony burst out laughing, "Oh no no no! No way! I don't dance!" "Come on, Tony! I danced and sang for you." Kate pouted. "And it was incredibly adorable but I don't dance or sing..." he argued as he kissed the tip of her nose.

Kate smirked at him, "You're too scared!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

Kate smiled sweetly at him. "Then prove it." Tony took the challenge in her eyes and moved past her to his stereo and turned on the radio. He grabbed Kate and twirled her in his arms. Kate laughed as the two of them danced to 'Hot Blooded' by Foreigner. "Cuz I'm hot blooded, check it and see! I've got a fever of a hundred and three!" Tony sang as Kate pretended to play the electric guitar. "Come on, baby, do you do more than dance? I'm hot blooded, hot blooded!" Kate and Tony sang together as they burst out laughing and collapsed on the sofa together. Kate sat on Tony's lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. Tony held her tiny body close to him and gently pressed his lips to hers.

Kate was surprised for a moment, but then responded enthusiastically by parting her lips and allowing him entrance to her mouth. Tony moaned as his tongue explored her warm wet mouth. He felt her hands slip under his shirt and he slipped his hands under her shirt to stroke her soft skin. Kate wiggled in delight on Tony's lap and he grabbed her hips to stop her squirming. "Katie..." he groaned. Kate giggled and moved to straddle his hips.

"What?" she whispered. He caught her lower lip in his and nipped lightly.

"You're playing with fire." he warned her as she pulled his shirt off and ran her hands over his shoulders and across his chest down to his taut stomach.

"I like fire. It makes me hot." she breathed against his lips. Tony growled and pulled her shirt off and cupped her full breasts in his hands. He trailed hot kisses from her neck down to the dip between her breasts. He rubbed his thumbs over her laced covered nipples, making the friction almost unbearable for Kate. She arched her back pressing her chest firmer into his hands and ground her hips into his. Tony bucked his hips into hers and reached around to unclasp her bra. Her breasts spilled out and bounced lightly before coming to rest right in front of Tony's face. He moaned and took a taut nipple into his mouth and sucked lightly while kneading the other in his hand.

"Tony..." Kate threw her head back and moaned as his mouth and hands worked her into a frenzy. Kate's hands went to work on getting his pants undone but they were interrupted by the shrill sound of Kate's phone.

"Shit." Kate cursed as she noticed her phone sitting on the other side of the room by her purse. "Ignore it." Tony mumbled into her soft cleavage as he tightened his grip on her.

"I can't. It might be Gibbs or Fornell..." she sighed as she disentangled herself from him. Tony watched her lithe half naked body dance over to get her phone.

"Agent Todd." she answered professionally as she came back and sat back on Tony's lap. He wrapped an arm around her waist and rubbed circles on her back with the other as he nibbled on her collarbone. "Yes, I'll let him know as soon as possible... What time?..." she said as she tried hard to ignore Tony's mouth traveling lower. She squealed as his lips latched to a nipple. "No, no I'm fine, Fornell." she gasped as Tony looked up at her and grinned. She glared at him playfully and pushed his chest so he was laying down and she was straddling his hips. Tony sucked in a breath as he slid his hands along Kate's perfect body. Her skin was soft and silky and glowed in the sunlight like an angel. Her dark hair and bright hazel eyes made her look impossibly edible. His hands traveled down to her thighs and wished ha had her pants off were off. They were getting in the way and she definitely won't be needing them.

"Yeah, I'll... Uh, I'll meet you at his place." he heard Kate say to Fornell as she gave a saucy wink to Tony. Tony grinned and squeezed her thighs. "OK, see you in about 15 minutes." Tony looked at Kate disappointed. He didn't want her to leave.

Kate hung up and laid down on Tony's chest. "We can't do this right now." she whispered and kissed him. Tony sighed and wrapped her up in his arms so her naked chest was pressed against his chest and buried his face in her hair.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly. "I'm not going anywhere. But Fornell will be here in 15 minutes." Tony looked down at Kate quickly and said "What? Right now...? But we were just getting started." he said evidently upset that Fornell was interrupting his time with Kate.

Kate laughed and rubbed her nose against his. "We can get back to this later. Fornell just wants to talk to you about security stuff and read you into the case." she said as she got up to get her clothes back on. She helped Tony up and the two of them quickly got dressed and put the living room back together. It took them longer than it should have due to the fact that Tony couldn't keep his hands off her. They had just gotten everything in place when the doorbell rang. Kate turned to Tony and said, "Behave yourself." Tony just grinned and replied, "I always behave!" Kate rolled her eyes "Uh huh..."

Tony opened the door to see Fornell standing there holding an evidence box. "Hi Fornell, come on in." Tony stepped aside to let his guest in. "Would you like something to drink" he asked trying to be civil.

"Sure, some water would be nice."

"Kate do you want something to drink too?" he turned to her to ask.

"Same for me, just water."

Tony went to the kitchen, "Make yourselves comfortable!" he called out. It was kinda weird: him being so formal with Kate when 20 minutes ago they were making out on his couch. He smiled to himself as he poured the water. 'She's so beautiful!' Shaking his head, he reminded himself that he needed to focus on everything Fornell was about to tell him. This was important work.

He brought the water out and sat down with them. "Thanks. So, I imagine Agent Todd here has told you what is going on?" Fornell began.

Tony nodded. "Yeah, she has and I'm in. I'll do whatever it takes to keep my team safe and bring down Mossad." Fornell nodded.

"But you do realize this means keeping a huge secret from your team. Even Gibbs..." he said hesitantly. He was aware of how loyal Tony was especially to Gibbs.

Tony nodded slowly. "I know. It won't be easy especially after Kate's 'death' when the team will be upset but I can do it. It's like being undercover."

"Being undercover for several years." Kate added.

Tony nodded. "I can do this." Fornell took in Tony's determined face and handed his the box that was filled with files.

"You can read these on your own time. They're the files, reports, and evidence we've been working on since Ari took Agent Todd, Ducky, and Gerald hostage. Feel free to let me know if you have information to add or questions or opinions. Ari is here on Al-Kaida business. That's what we're telling Gibbs and NCIS. I know you're NCIS and on Gibbs' team, but for the next couple years you're going to be on our team as well. When I come to tell you guys that Ari is back in the states, you have to pretend that it's the first time hearing this information. If you have to cuss and yell at me then OK, but it has to be believable."

Tony nodded. "Yes sir. But can I ask a question? How exactly are you going to fake Kate's death? I mean Ducky's going to know right away when he does the autopsy that's it's not Kate? And how is she not going to die when Ari shoots her...?"

"Ducky's not going to do the autopsy. Our people are. Last week we had a female FBI agent who was diagnosed with cancer die. She's been dead for a week now but she gave us permission to use her body for this. We have been working with someone to change her appearance to look just like Agent Todd. Our undercover agents close to Ari will replace his bullets with bullets filled with red paint. The replacement bullets will sting a little but it'll look genuine. You're going to find him at some old abandoned warehouses in Norfolk. We'll be stationed at one of the warehouses close by. Ari will eventually take a shot at Kate with the replacement bullets but he will think she has really been shot. And that's where you come in. When no one's looking you have to pick up the bullet case that will bounce off her head so no one finds it. We will be waiting close by so when Gibbs and McGee are distracted getting Ducky, we need you to help us replace Kate with the dead body of the FBI agent and we'll take Kate with us. That way the FBI will be on scene and we'll have our director give orders that we do the autopsy. The dead body just has to fool them til we get it into our autopsy room. And her 'funeral' will be a closed casket. I'll be in touch with you a couple days later after we get her situated in Boston. All of this is supposed to start this Monday, so Tony you need to get back to work on Monday. Are you OK with all this?"

Tony nodded and looked around at Kate who was silent as she took in Tony's reaction. After a minute, he said "Wow... you really think this is going to work...?"

"It will if everything goes according to plan." Fornell answered.

Tony looked at Kate. "Are you sure about this?" he asked quietly. "If you're certain this is what needs to be done, then of course I'll help but you have to be 100% certain."

Kate nodded. "Yes, I'm certain."

"OK, I'll do it." He took Kate's hand and squeezed. "I'm with you every step of the way." Kate smiled at Tony and said, "I know you are."

Fornell pulled out 2 new cell phones, handing one to Tony and one to Kate. "Here are new phones. Use them as a personal phones, not for business. These are the only phones you two can contact each other on. And you'll need to get new personal email address's if you want to email each other." Kate and Tony thanked Fornell and silently took the phones.

Kate looked at Fornell. "Everything's going to change now isn't it?" Fornell looked at the young couple and smiled gently. "Yes. Everything's going to change. I've only been here for 15 minutes but I can already tell you two are in love. This is going to be a big change. What you two have is special and I hope that despite the change you guys will make it through."

Tony put his arm around Kate and kissed her, "We will. Thanks Fornell, for everything." Fornell smiled at them and left.

Kate and Tony sat down together on the couch. Kate crawled into Tony's lap and Tony wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly. "You alright?" he asked quietly as he stroked her hair.

Kate sighed and said, "This is going to be hard... you know, leaving behind Kate Todd to become Dr. Maura Isles. And leaving behind Gibbs, Abby, McGee, Ducky... and it's going to be hard on us..."

Tony kissed the top of her head and said, "I know this is going to be hard. And I promise I'll give Abs tons of hugs and not tease McGee as much and listen to Ducky's stories every now and then. And I'll be the best Agent I can be for Gibbs. I promise."

He tilted her head up to kiss her. "I love you." he whispered. "I love you and I will do everything in my power to get this mission done and keep you and the team safe. I promise."


	3. Chapter 3

Monday morning rolled around and Kate was woken to Tony lightly nibbling and kissing her shoulders while he rubbed little circles on her back.

"Rise and shine, beautiful." he whispered lovingly. Kate slowly opened her eyes to see her boyfriend's gentle green eyes sparkling at her. He moved over and took the coffee mug he had ready at the bedside table. "I made you coffee, just the way you like it!" Kate smiled and sat up, taking the coffee and sipping it slowly.

"You ready for this...?" she asked hesitantly. Tony scooted closer to her and put an arm around her. "Absolutely I am. Are you?" He looked at Kate who was silently sipping her coffee, deep in thought.

"Yeah, I guess I am. These are the last two days I get to be Caitlin Todd. This time next Monday, I'll be Dr. Maura Isles and living in Boston." she said softly. Tony kissed her and pulled her closer.

"Ill come visit you and I'll call you everyday. I love you." Kate laid her head on Tony's shoulder and sighed. "I know, I'm just nervous."

Later that morning, Kate was sitting at her desk waiting for Tony to arrive. They agreed that Kate would come in first and Tony would come in later. And they made sure to remember to treat each other as they always did at work: basically that meant Tony teasing and annoying Kate and Kate ignoring and pushing Tony around. They couldn't risk Gibbs or anyone finding out about their new relationship; it would just add complications they didn't need. Kate spent the day trying so hard to memorize each and every thing about her team mates to remember later on after she left. And she and Tony were trying to keep their secret relationship a secret, but even that almost fell through when they were investigating the dead bodies and the car almost blew up Tony. She felt her heart stop completely when the car exploded and she didn't see Tony. Tony laid there in the dirt, alive but in shock and a bit sore. When he heard Kate scream his name he gathered the last of his strength to pull himself up the last few yards to the top of the hill so she could see he was OK.

Kate didn't leave his side as Ducky checked him out down in the autopsy. Even though she couldn't show it, she was worried sick for him. When Ducky told him he should go lay down and Tony argued that he needed to get back to work, Kate almost slipped. "Dammit, Tony. I should just take you home and get you in bed." she said before she realized what she had said. Fortunately, Ducky and Tony mistook her genuine concern for sexual innuendo. However, she didn't have to explain herself because Gibbs took that moment to walk in. After sending Tony to go lay down, Gibbs and the rest of the team went back to work.

Tony knew Kate was worried about the next day and he felt bad that the car explosion just added to her worries. He laid on the floor behind his desk thinking about Kate when McGee suggested that Kate was in love with him. Tony scoffed at the idea for McGee's benefit. 'Oh, if only he knew...' Tony thought.

Later that evening, Fornell came by to tell the team that Ari was back in the States and that his target was killing Gibbs. Just as he instructed, Kate and Tony acted like this was the first time hearing this news. Tony called Gibbs' phone and left 20 messages while Kate met with Director Morrow about being assigned Protection Detail for Gibbs when he returned. Fornell slipped a note to Tony who opened it. It was a list of emergency numbers to call if he suspected anything was wrong with Kate or if she was in danger while in Boston. Tony pocketed it as Gibbs walked through the elevator. Gibbs didn't seem at all surprised at the news about Ari but before he could do anything the Director called him up to MTAC where, much to Gibbs' dismay, he assigned Kate protection detail for him.

As Kate was going over plans about security with Tony and McGee, Tony could tell she was beginning to become anxious. He longed to reach out and hold her and soothingly tell her that everything was going to be OK, but he couldn't with McGee there. Gibbs came down and told them to all go home, that he was going to stay the night here. Which of course they disobeyed and decided that they were going to stay the night there with him.

When Tony was sure everyone was asleep, he crawled over to Kate's desk where she was sleeping on the floor behind her desk. He scooted behind her and wrapped her tightly to his chest. This was the last night he got to hold Kate while she slept before he was cleared to go up to Boston in several months to visit her. He buried his face in her hair and slipped his hands under her shirt and caressed her tummy. Kate wiggled her backside into his chest as she giggled softly. She turned over to see Tony with his arms around her. Kate gently kissed his lips and slipped her hands under the back of his shirt to run her hands up and down the muscles in his back. They laid just like that, in each other's arms for a while just enjoying the warmth from each other's bodies. After about 15 minutes, Tony leaned over and softly brushed the hair away from Kate's face. She looked up at him to see him gazing adoringly down at her.

"I love you, Caitlin Todd." he whispered lovingly as he caressed the soft skin of her belly right above the waist band of her pants. Kate snuggled closer to his chest and inhaled his masculine scent.

"I love you too, Anthony Dinozzo." They stared at each other trying to memorize ever feature, every line, every freckle. "Are you scared about tomorrow?" he asked her quietly.

Kate shook her head. "I'm not scared for myself, no. I'm just sad because everything I have, everything I know, will be gone. I'm going to become a new person tomorrow. Kate Todd will be just a memory." she whispered as she clung to Tony.

"But a good memory." he whispered in her ear. "And no matter what your new identity is, you'll always be my Katie. Always. Kate Todd is who you are and just because you're going by a different name doesn't mean you should forget about Kate Todd. She's a part of you, don't let her go."

Kate closed her eyes as she allowed Tony to roll them so she was laying on top of him. She snuggled into his warm chest and let her tears fall. Tony gently kissed each tear away and held her closely was she wept quietly in his arms. He felt his heart break as his shirt became wet with her tears, but he let her cry. He gently rolled them again so she was underneath him and he was covering her protectively with his body. He watched silently as she cried herself to sleep in his arms and he tucked her into his chest and let himself drift to sleep.

At around 3am, Gibbs woke up. He looked around and as his eyes adjusted to the dark, he spotted McGee sleeping at his desk covered by his jacket. He heard a soft snoring noise coming from Kate's desk and went over to check on her. He peeped over her desk onto the floor to see Tony and Kate wrapped in each other's arms sleeping peacefully. He cocked his head as he observed his two agents who were obviously in love. He wondered how long this had been going on, but decided not to say anything to them unless it began to interfere with the job. Tony had his arms wrapped protectively around Kate's petite body and Kate was curled up in his chest. Gibbs smiled as he remembered when he was in love with another agent. He hadn't thought about Jenny Shepherd in years, but as he smiled lovingly down at his agents he knew he couldn't be the one to break them apart. Just because he and Jenny didn't work out doesn't mean that Tony and Kate wouldn't work out either. He sighed as he pulled their blanket up to cover them more, before going to the big window and staring out into the night, knowing Ari was out there somewhere. ' I'll get you someday soon.' he promised him. Little did he know, just how soon he was going to come come across Ari and the price would be the life of one of his agents.


	4. Chapter 4

Abby excitedly skipped into the bullpen to say good morning to her favorite NCIS agents. Gibbs wasn't at his desk so she assumed he went out for a coffee run. She looked over at McGee and smiled as he slept at his desk. Looking around at Tony's desk she frowned to see it empty. The soft snoring noises from Kate's desk roused her curiosity and she peeped over the desk and gasped. There laying on the floor was Kate and Tony. Kate had her head buried in his chest as his arms held her tightly to his heart. They looked so peaceful, so deeply in love that it took Abby's breath away for a moment. Acting quickly, she rushed to rummage through Tony's desk drawer til she found the camera she knew he had in there. She snapped a couple shots to save for later. She would wait for one of them to tell her about their relationship before giving them the picture.

Tony woke before Kate and quickly placed an innocent kiss on her forehead before going back to his desk before anyone saw them. He had planned to wake up and get back to his desk before the sun came up, but sleeping next to Kate made him forget about everything and everyone around him. It was relaxing and perfect, but this morning was not a morning to relax and watch her sleep for the next 30 minutes. He disentangled himself from her trying not to wake her up, but she woke anyway.

"Oh shit... do you think anyone saw us?" she whispered. Tony peeked out to see McGee still sleeping and Gibbs gone.

"Maybe Gibbs... he's not here. But McGeek is still sleeping." Kate grabbed Tony and kissed him quickly before kicking him back over to his desk. They got up and used the restrooms before coming back to wake up McGee. When they were all up and working, Tony took a moment to look at Kate. She was nervous and quieter than usual. He was a bit nervous himself. What if this didn't work? What if Ari found the fake bullets and used real bullets... and he shot Kate...? He shook his head to get those thoughts out of his head. Everything was going to be alright...

As the worked through the day, Kate received an email from Fornell. It gave them a lead pointing them to the warehouses at Norfolk. The FBI was already in position at the opposite side of the warehouses out of sight but they had eyes on Ari and the others with him. Kate forwarded the email to Tony and presented the information as if she found it. As Gibbs, McGee, Tony, and Kate gathered their gear, Kate took one last look around at the bullpen. The place where she felt the safest, the place she came to work everyday, the place where she came to cry, to laugh, the place she came to when she couldn't sleep, the place she met Tony her amazing boyfriend, the place that gave her a second chance after she left the Secret Service. This was home, no matter where she goes. She felt Tony's hand on her arm and she turned to see him waiting for her. He smiled encouragingly at her and together the two ran to catch the elevator.

Gibbs drove like a mad man trying to get to the warehouses before Ari fired the missile. Tony glanced back to look at Kate to see her face pale. He wished he was back there so he could hold her hand or rub her thigh reassuringly. But he wasn't so all he could do is pray she was going to be alright. They got to the warehouses and McGee got to work trying to detonate the missile while Tony climbed the ladder on the outside to reach the rooftop. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the FBI stationed out of sight at the opposite warehouse. Kate and Gibbs took the inside of the warehouse. Kate's heart was beating so fast, she was sure Ari's people could hear it and give away their positions.

'This is it' she thought. 'These are my last moments as Kate Todd. Well, it's an honor to 'die' among Leroy Jethro Gibbs' she thought as they made their way to meet up on the rooftop with Tony. The air around them sounded with rounds of bullets as they shot their way through to get to the controllers of the missile.

Tony's heart was beating. Any minute now, his Katie was going to fall 'dead' and his life was to change, for better or for worse, he didn't know. The sound of Kate's voice shook him from his thoughts. Kate, seeing a shooter aiming for Gibbs, yelled "Shooter!" and Tony turned to see Kate jumping in front of Gibbs. It was like everything was in slow motion. He heard the shot ring out and Kate fall to the ground, curled up in a ball. Gibbs and Tony turned and fired rounds into the shooter. Tony was confused. The shooter wasn't Ari... He rushed to Kate's side and Gibbs rolled her over to see the bullet stuck in her bulletproof vest. He breathed a sigh of relief but looked at Kate confused. Was this part of the plan?

"You OK?" he asked her. Kate rolled her eyes, but Tony saw a hint of confusion in her eyes as well. This wasn't part of the plan... but she still braced herself for the sting of the fake bullet that sure to come.

"I just got shot at point blank, Dinozzo. What do you think?"

Tony grinned. "You won't be going to Pilates class tomorrow?" he teased even though inside he was bracing himself for the shot that was supposed to come any minute now... "You did good Kate."

"Protection Detail's over, Kate." Gibbs said. "And for once Tony's right. You did good."

"Wow, Gibbs. I thought I'd die before I hear you -" The three of them heard the shot ring out loud and clear. Kate felt an intense stinging on her forehead and even though she knew she wasn't dead the force of it make her fall back. Just in time, she remembered that she was supposed to play dead so she held her eyes open as she felt the red paint seep out from behind her head.

Tony watch horrified as Kate fell backwards. The red paint splattered on his face as Kate laid there still with her eyes open. Gibbs turned to the opposite warehouse with his gun pointed looking for Ari. Tony grabbed the bullet that bounced off Kate and pocketed it as he knelt down to look at her. She blinked once really quick to let Tony know that she was OK. She stilled again as Gibbs looked down at his fallen agent. Tony looked around to see Fornell and some of his men hidden behind the furnace.

"Dammit, Kate." Gibbs swore softly as he stumbled away unsure of where exactly he was going. "I'll be back. Gotta call Ducky..." Tony watched as Gibbs disappeared out of site. Moving quickly, Tony got Kate up and Fornell and his men replaced her body with the dead woman. "Damn, she looks just like her..." Tony said in awe. Speaking into his earphone, Fornell told his agents to start the sirens to get to the scene before Ducky.

"Come on, Agent Todd. We have to move. Now!" Kate turned to Tony and kissed him hard. "I love you, Tony. Call me as soon as you can!" Tony kissed her and said, "I love you too, Katie. Don't worry. I'll take care of everything here. I'll miss you." he kissed her as Fornell grabbed her arm to get them down the ladder in the back. He watched as Kate was quickly ushered into the black SUV and driven away as the other FBI agents arrived on the scene. He turned to look down at the fake Kate and back up in time to see the SUV with his sweetheart in it turn the corner. He felt as if his heart was ripped away from him as he watched Kate leave. But he would see her again in a couple months. But she wouldn't be Caitlin Todd. She would be Dr. Maura Isles from the Boston Police Department.

**BTW... helen: definitely Taura! :) **


	5. Chapter 5

Tony sat at his desk, wishing Kate was here. He'd give anything to see her typing away at her computer as she chewed on her lower lip, a habit she had that Tony had come to find endearing. Her empty desk seemed to stare back at him as if to taunt him, a reminder that she wasn't there. 'Just a couple more months and then I can see her again.' he repeatedly reminded himself. Fornell had said this was going to be hard and now Tony knew exactly what he was talking about. He missed Kate so much. These past several days were hell. Gibbs was out of sorts... he blamed himself for Kate's 'death' and at the same time became nicer to Tony and McGee which confused them to no end. Abby was a mess just as Kate predicted. Tony found her in her lab staring at the picture Kate had drawn her as a bat. Abby loved it and looking at it reminded her of her best friend. Just as promised, Tony was there for Abby for support and many many hugs. McGee was silent and unsure of what exactly his feelings were. He had a bit of a crush on the female agent and even though it was more of an infatuation, he regretted he didn't tell her sooner. She was his superhero. Tony suspected the Probie had never lost a partner and friend. McGee was scared to go down to see Kate's body. He was afraid if he looked at Kate's lifeless form, he wouldn't be able to hold back the tears. And then he would never hear the end of it from Dinozzo. Ducky requested that after the FBI conduct their autopsy she be brought to NCIS to wait for her funeral on Saturday morning.

Kate's "death" also made Gibbs even more determined to catch and kill Ari. He came so close. And he slipped again. He vowed the next time he came across Ari's path, he would kill him. He would kill him to avenge Kate's death, Gerald's shoulder, and all the stress and sleepless nights this son of a bitch has caused him.

Tony leaned back in his chair and stared over at Kate's empty desk. He wondered what she was doing right now. He hoped she was OK and safe. He closed his eyes and thought about the last day they spent together at his place. They had laid in bed all day making love and watching movies and just holding each other. Tony spent the day memorizing every inch of her body, finding all her ticklish spots, all the spots that made her moan and running his hands over every curve. He even tried to count all the freckles on her chest, nose and shoulders. Kate laughed at him until he decided he'll count them all next time. He chuckled to himself as he remembered the adorable way she scrunched her nose at him when she giggled. His daydreams were interrupted by the voice of a young Israeli woman.

There before him stood Ziva David. The half sister to Ari, the man who "killed" his Kate. His first meeting with her didn't go as planned. She accused him of having phone sex while he was talking to himself about Kate... 'Not a great start, Tony!' he chastised himself.

The rest of the week went downhill from there. Gibbs introduced Tony and McGee to their new director, Director Jenny Shepherd. Tony couldn't quite put his finger on it but he had a feeling Gibbs and the new director had met before. Tony introduced Ziva David to Gibbs and McGee. Gibbs was extremely suspicious when it came to Ziva and had Tony trail her for the rest of the week. Director Shepherd and Ziva also had a past which was why the director wanted Ziva on the team. Kate had warned Tony to be nice to Ziva. She had to believe that he didn't know about her mission, but Tony couldn't help resenting Ziva for taking Kate's place on the team. She wasn't Kate and she never would be, even if she was at her desk now. McGee was also a bit cold to Ziva at first, which made Tony and Gibbs smile to themselves.

When Ziva made references about Gibbs' past as a Marine Sniper and the rifle he shot and what bullets he used, Gibbs knew immediately that she was briefed at Mossad about the whole team. After making the rest of the team leave the room, he challenged her to test her loyalty: to him and NCIS or Mossad.

Ziva knew what she must do to win Gibbs' trust. It was what she was instructed to do. Save Gibbs' life by shooting Ari in front of him. Ari was her half brother which made it harder, but he was out of control. He needed to be eliminated.

That night in Gibbs' basement, Ari was waiting for Gibbs. Ziva followed at a close distance and stayed upstairs so Ari couldn't see her. She waited til she got a clear shot on him. Just as Ari was about to shoot Gibbs, Ziva pulled the trigger and watched Ari collapse on the floor. Dead. Gibbs turned around to see Ziva slowly coming down the stairs. Without a word, he placed a hand on her shoulder and went upstairs to call the FBI and left Ziva to be with her half brother. Ari was dead.

That night Tony was watching a movie when his phone beeped. He opened it to see a text from Fornell. It read: Ari is dead. You are welcome to get in touch with Kate. But remember, be discreet especially at work. Tony jumped up and grabbed the phone that Fornell had given to him when he wanted to call Kate. He punched in her number and waited while her phone rang. On the third ring he heard her sweet voice. "Hello?"

"Kate? Is that you? It's Tony!" He pulled the phone away as a high pitched squeal filled his ears. "Tony! I miss you! Fornell finally gave you the OK to call?"

"Yeah... Ari's dead... I just got the text tonight from him." Tony said. "I wish you could come back..." he said Kate smiled gently. "you know I can't."

"How's Boston and when do I get to call you Dr. Isles?" he asked. Kate laughed. "I like Boston, it's nice. So much history in this city. And I have a tutor who's a Medical Examiner who's going to spend the next 3 years teaching me how to be a Medical Examiner. It's going to be an Accelerated Doctorate so I won't have to do the whole 8 years of schooling. But for now I'm still Kate to you. Here I'm Maura Isles. I got highlights and I have to grow my hair out and change my hair style and everything. It's so weird... you know, being someone else. It's like being in a movie and acting out a character..." Kate laughed. Tony's eyes lit up, "I love movies..." Kate burst out laughing at his goofiness. "You're such a goof ball!" she teased.

How's the team...?" she asked. Her heart broke as he told her about Abby, McGee, Gibbs, and Ducky. "Now I wish I was back there." she whispered. "Don't worry, sweetheart. I'm taking good care of things." he reassured her. "I give Abby many many hugs and I haven't teased McGee all week. As for Gibbs, the only thing I can do is do my job the best I can." "I know Tony... I know you're doing your best and I'm so proud of you. I miss you so much."

"I love you too, Kate." he said as he pulled her picture out of his wallet. Her bright smile lit up her entire face. "Can I came visit you?' he asked hesitantly. "Absolutely! Tony, you never have to ask to come visit me! I want you here." Kate said excitedly. "When can you come?" Tony thought for a moment. "I can't this weekend. Saturday is your funeral and I'm gonna be there. But is next weekend alright?"

Kate squealed and said excitedly, "Yes! I can't wait." Tony laughed at her enthusiasm. "I'll be there. As long as a case doesn't come up. If I leave right after work at like 7, I'd be there at around 3 in the morning." Kate clapped her hands excitedly. "I'll leave a key above the doorway. You have my address right?" "Yup!" Tony replied.

They spent the next hour talking about everything they could think of from the team, to Ziva and Ari, to Boston and their upcoming reunion. Finally at around 2 in the morning, they decided to get some sleep. "I love you, Katie." Tony whispered wishing he was there to give her a kiss good night. "I love you too, Tony." she whispered as she wrapped her blanket around her. She wished it was Tony's strong arms wrapped around her instead. They both hung up but fell asleep with smiles on their faces as they thought of next weekend.

**I apologize for the delay on this chapter. I've been kinda busy. And I know, this chapter doesn't have a lot of excitement but I had to make some sort of transition from Kate to Ziva and wrap up Ari's death. So there's not much Tony and Kate... but next chapter will be the weekend they spend together! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Warning: This chapter is rated M**

** And it is also a very long chapter... :) **

The rest of the week went by slowly for Tony. He kept a suspicious eye on Ziva and went down to Abby for his daily hugs. Abby was feeling a little better. Tony came in on Wednesday morning to find her slurping away on a Caf-Pow and her music blasting. McGee was feeling a little better. Tony noticed McGee was still quieter than usual and he knew he was still hurting over Kate's death. They all were in their own way.

Tony couldn't get Kate out of his mind. Everyday he wondered what she was doing, where she was, what she was wearing, what she was eating, what her new place looked liked and if she had made any new friends in Boston. She was like his drug and he was helplessly addicted to her. He sent her little texts sometimes during the day letting her know he was thinking of her. She always responded with cute or witty responses that made him laugh and miss her even more. He couldn't wait to see her next weekend.

The week after Kate's funeral was more calm; they were finally able to put Kate to rest. McGee was back to himself: rattling off information that no one but him understood. Tony even called him "Probie" again which made McGee smile. Tony hadn't called him Probie or teased him all last week. Abby was back to her caffeine high, fun-loving self. She even cracked a few jokes at Gibbs. And Gibbs was more relaxed as well. He head slapped Tony twice in one day which Tony took as great improvement. Of course, he had to explain to Ziva that Gibbs' head-slaps were just an American sign of affection, which of course Ziva didn't buy. Even though the team was almost back to normal, none of them forgot Kate who they all remembered in their hearts.

Ziva had been observing the team very closely. They were like a close dysfunctional family. And that baffled Ziva. She had come from Mossad where everyone was basically by themselves. It was you against everyone else in Israel. That's how she was raised and she didn't understand that this team would die for each other. It was odd. But she would adapt.

By the end of the week, Tony was going crazy. He had become accustomed to calling Kate Maura now especially when he was at work if he was talking to her on the phone. He loved hearing her voice; it was like his favorite song. The melody that played in his head all day. He was talking to her behind the stairs on Thursday afternoon. "... you got a turtle named Bass...? Oh sorry, tortoise. I apologize. Why Bass?" Tony burst out laughing. "You named your turtle Bad-Ass and you call him Bass for short? And you think I'm goofy... I miss you too, Maura. I can't wait to see you. You have no idea how much I miss you... I love you too, sweetie." He turned to see Gibbs staring at him. "Uh, I gotta go, Maura! Yeah, I'll talk to you later..."

"Hi, Boss... I was just, uh... talking to my sister..."

"You don't have a sister, Dinozzo."

"Oh... right." Tony said as he quickly tried to think of an excuse for why he was talking on the phone behind the stairs.

"I wanted to see if you were OK, Tony." Gibbs said. "I know you and Kate were... close..." Tony froze. "What do you mean? We were partners and coworkers... nothing more." he lied. Gibbs stared at him. "Partners and coworkers that fall asleep in each other's arms?" he asked.

Tony was paralyzed. "You saw that?"

"Uh huh..."

"I'm sorry, Boss. We should have told you..." Tony hung his head. He hated lying to Gibbs. And he felt guilty that he was still keeping the biggest secret of all from his boss, the man who he looked to as a father. But Gibbs was not to know of Maura... not yet.

"It's OK Tony. I just wanted to see if you were OK...?" "I'm fine Boss. Thank you."

"Who's Maura?" Gibbs asked curiously. Tony almost wet his pants from fright. "Uh... she's a friend that I'm going to see this weekend..." he said praying Gibbs couldn't see if he was lying. Gibbs nodded. "Have fun." he said before walking away. "Oh and Dinozzo? I ever catch you talking on the phone while you're supposed to be working again, I'll kick your ass!" Tony grimaced and ran back to his desk.

Friday evening came and Tony was itching to get out of there. He had an overnight bag packed in his car with some movies and stuff to bring to Maura from her desk. Among the items was her sketch book that Ziva had found and gave to Gibbs who in turn gave it to Tony. It was 1830 hours when Gibbs looked up and told his team to get their asses out of his office. Tony jumped up and almost hugged Ziva out of excitement and knocked McGee out of the way as he rushed to the elevator. He had an 8 hour drive to Boston and he couldn't wait to see Maura. He stopped to get gas and coffee and then he made a quick stop to Martha's Gardens to get some flowers before driving as fast as he could to Boston. The whole way there he thought of Maura and her sweet smile. He thought of the last time they saw each other and the memories that they would make this weekend.

As he crossed into Massachusetts, he stopped for something to eat before continuing to Boston. He pulled out her address and punched it in to the GPS system in his car. The directions brought him to a row of cozy looking townhouses. He pulled up to hers and turned off his car. The lights were out so she was probably sleeping. 'I don't blame her; it's 2:30 in the morning' he thought to himself. Quickly he grabbed his bag and her box of stuff and flowers and went to the front door. He reached up to find the key and quietly let himself in. Tony looked around for a moment before setting the flowers on the counter and seeing a hallway guessed that her room was somewhere down there, he headed to the room with the door open.

He peeped into see his beautiful girlfriend sleeping there on the bed bathed in the soft light from the street light outside. She was wearing an old NCIS t-shirt that he recognized as one of his. His heart raced as he took in her tousled hair. It was a little longer than he remembered and he could see light brown and blonde highlights in her hair. The big shirt went to the middle of her thighs giving him a perfect view of her long toned legs. He softly set his bags down and slipped his shoes and socks and shirt off before climbing into bed with her. He gently pulled her petite body into his arms. Tony ran his hands down her back to stroke her soft thighs. Maura stirred slightly but didn't wake. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his muscular body and buried her head in his chest. Tony kissed her lips sweetly before moving down to nibble on her jaw. Maura giggled and slowly opened her eyes. "Tony? Is that you?" she asked as her eyes adjusted to the dark. "Hey, babe! Yeah it's me!" Maura squealed and turned to turn the lamp on.

Maura and Tony grabbed and pulled each other in for a passionate kiss. Maura settled herself on his chest as he ran his fingers through her thick hair. He ran his hands down to her hips and under her shirt to stroke her soft skin. In one quick movement, he flipped them over and settled himself over her body. She moaned as he moved down to pull her shirt up and off. He cupped her breasts as he kissed her. Maura ran her hands over his back feeling his muscles quiver under her hands. "I missed you, Maura." he panted as she reached down to cup his ass, pulling him closer. "I missed you too." she sighed against his lips Their hands and mouths were everywhere trying to reach every spot. Tony breathed in her scent which made him wild with desire. He pressed hot little kisses down to the valley between her breasts. Maura moaned and arched her back as he took one taut nipple in his mouth sucking hard. She grabbed the sheets, twisting them as his mouth and hands worked over her nipples. She reached for his pants, sliding his belt off. Tony groaned as she unbuttoned his pants and pushed them down. "Off." she demanded. Tony kicked his pants off and slid back up her body to catch her lips in another kiss full of passion and lust. He moved back down to nibble on her stomach. Maura giggled which turned to a harsh groan as Tony cupped her sex in his hand. He could feel the heat and wetness that gathered there under her silk panties and moaned. He could smell her arousal and growled. "Tony... please..." Maura begged, not sure what she was begging for.

"What, sweetheart? What do you need. Tell me." he whispered "I need... you, tongue... fingers... please Tony..." she struggled unable to form complete sentences. "Shh... I know what you need. I am what you need." he said as he pulled her panties down and spread her legs farther. He almost came at the sight. He softly blew warm air over her sex and held her hips down as she squirmed. He bent his head and slowly made little circles over her clit before pulling it into his warm mouth. Maura moaned and whimpered as he slid a finger between her folds to enter her. She cried out and grabbed his hair tugging slightly. His hands and mouth worked her into a frenzy and she gave one last sob before she came in his mouth and on his fingers. It took everything in Tony not to come right then and there. He carefully licked up every drop, not letting any go to waste. Maura was panting as she came down from her high to find Tony gently lapping at her. She reached for him and pulled him up to kiss him sweetly.

"That was amazing, but now its your turn." she whispered seductively before taking his fingers into her mouth sucking off her juices. Tony groaned and pulled her to him to kiss her hard. Their tongues dueled for dominance before Maura slid down to suck gently at his collarbone. She straddled his hips and felt his erection pressed into her thigh. She sighed as he ran his hands down her soft back and cupped her ass. Maura wiggled out of his grasp and trailed kisses down his chest. She flicked her tongue over his nipples. Tony moaned and tangled his fingers in her hair. She made her way down his stomach softly kissing the thin trail of hair from his belly button to take his cock in her hands. Tony threw his head back and began reciting movie statistics in his head so to not come immediately as she took him in her warm wet mouth. He moaned as she stroked and sucked him until he became nothing more than a babbling fool. "Maura... so close... fuck!..." he panted. He quickly grabbed her by the arms and tugged her up. He rolled them over and entered her. Maura cried out in pleasure as Tony filled her to the brim. Tony groaned harshly as he began to pound deeply into her. He looked down at her to see her gazing up at him, her sweet little mouth open in an "O" and her sweaty body writhing under him. He grabbed her ankles and placed them over his shoulders. The new angle made them both reach the edge at the same time. After 3 hard, deep thrusts of his hips Tony made them both cum at the same time. Both Maura and Tony saw fireworks as they came together. He slowly rolled off her but pulled her into his arms. They laid there panting, their breaths mingling as they came down from their climax. Maura stroked his chest lazily as she scooted closer to him. Tony ran his fingers through her hair and pulled her in for a kiss. "I missed you, Maura." he whispered. Maura laid her head down on his chest feeling his heart still beating wildly. "I missed you so much, Tony." she whispered back. They fell asleep like that, wrapped in each others arms, listening to their hearts beating together as one.

The next morning, Maura awoke to find herself wrapped tightly to Tony's chest. She smiled at his mussed up hair sticking up in all directions. Not wanting to wake him, because he was probably really tired, she wiggled slightly to slid herself out of his arms. She looked around to see clothes thrown all over the floor. She grinned as the memories of last night flooded back. She saw his bag and the box on the floor. Her curiosity got the better of her and she peeped in the box to see some of her stuff from her desk from NCIS. Her sketchbook was laying on top. She opened it and looked down to see her drawing of Gibbs staring up at her. She turned the page to find the picture of McGee she drew. She hoped the insecure Probie was doing alright. She smiled as she found the drawing of her and Abby at the bar. She remembered that night. Smiling fondly at the memories, she turned the page to see Ducky and Palmer smiling up at her. She grinned as she remembered the sweet doctor and his assistant. She missed Ducky's stories and the sweet older man she thought of as a grandfather. She turned to the next page to find the drawing of Tony on the phone. She had just finished this the day she left NCIS. Tears gathered in her eyes as she remembered the family she left behind.

"Thought you might want that." she heard Tony say. She looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you." He was laying in bed watching her as she remembered the team. Maura got up and laid back down in bed with Tony. "I miss them." she said softly. Tony wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "They miss you too." Maura sighed and snuggled closer. "You hungry?" she asked him.

"When am I not hungry!" he laughed. Maura laughed. "I forgot, you're like a human garbage disposal. Come on. I'll make you breakfast." she said as she tugged him out of bed. "I'll help." he said as he pulled his boxers and pants on. He watched her pull the big NCIS t-shirt on and grinned. "I believe this was mine...?" he whispered as he tugged her into his arms and grabbed fistfuls of her shirt. "I don't know what you're talking about." she laughed as she squirmed out of his arms and ran to the kitchen. Tony laughed and ran after her. In the kitchen, he pressed her against the counter and lifted her up so she sat on the counter top and wrapped her arms around his neck kissing him. "I liked it. And you never wore it." she said as she nuzzled his neck. "Mmm... well, it looks better on you than on me. So you can definitely keep it. As long as you send me a picture of you in it!" Maura giggled and punched him in the chest. "Maybe..." she said as she hopped off the counter and threw him a playful wink.

They made breakfast and spent the rest of the day in bed, watching movies and making love and laughing and talking, and holding each other. Maura introduced him to Bass. Tony never wanted this to end. He was in heaven here with his beautiful Maura in his arms and the two of them laughing and spending time with each other. They ordered Chinese food for dinner and Maura took him to her balcony, so they ate dinner out there as they stared up at the stars. Tony closed his eyes and wished that this could be his reality. Maura was his whole world and everything to him. He hated that they had to be apart.

Maura was so happy here with Tony. He made her incredibly happy and made her feel beautiful and cherished. She wished with all her heart that he could stay here with her. But she knew he couldn't. She was head over heels in love with this man and if him staying in DC kept him safe, then he needed to be in DC. They went to bed at around 11 but Maura promised she'll show him around Boston a little before he had to leave.

"I wish I didn't have to go." he whispered in her hair as he held her tight. Maura smiled. "I know, I wish you can stay here too." she kissed him sweetly. They were silent as they thought about how their lives would be different if Ari had never tried to kill her and they were still together. "Good night, honey." Maura whispered as she scooted closer. "Good night, my love." he whispered back and tucked her into his chest before drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Tony and Maura woke and made breakfast together before heading out. Maura took him to the harbor behind her house and they watched the boats for a while. She laughed at Tony's eagerness. He was like a little boy on Christmas as he excitedly waved at the people on the boats. They held hands as they strolled through the Boston Public Garden. Tony stopped for a moment and reached down to pick a flower off the side of the path. He turned to Maura and tucked the flower behind her ear before kissing her sweetly. Maura wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you Tony." Tony smiled. "I love you too." They went to Quincy Market and walked through it looking at all the booths before getting something to eat for lunch. It was by far the best day of Tony's life. He was now positive he had died and gone to heaven. He watched the wind blow Maura's hair around and felt his heart melt at her beauty. She was everything to him. They slowly made their way back to Maura's house and Tony packed up his bag and put it in the car.

Maura wrapped her arms around Tony. "I have something for you." she said. Tony watched curiously as she pulled a thin gold necklace out of her pocket. On it was a heart shaped locket. "I know it's kinda girly, but I had it made when I first got here. And I want you to have it." She handed it to him and he turned it over to see an "M" and a "T" engraved in cursive, intertwined together. He opened it to see a picture of him and her as Kate together. It was the last night they had spent together at his place. He had his arms wrapped around her and he was kissing her on the cheek and she was laughing at the camera. He smiled and closed it before unclasping it and putting it around his neck. It hung low so he tucked it under his shirt close to his heart. Tony pulled her into his arms and kissed her softly. "I have something for you too." He dug through his bag and brought out a thin rectangular box. Maura opened it to find a beautiful diamond necklace. She gasped as she carefully took it out. On the thin silver chain, hung a circle made of tiny diamonds. She saw engraved words on the inside and looked closely to read, "Tony and Maura. My love for you is like this circle. It will never end." She wiped the tears away as he unclasped it for her. She turned around and held her hair up while he put the necklace on her. She turned around to find his lips close to hers. "I love you, Maura." she kissed him and whispered back, "I love you too, Tony." He kissed her silent tears away and whispered, "I'll be back, don't be sad, sweetheart."

"I'm going to miss you." she whispered. "I'm going to miss you too. But I'll call and text and email and everything! I promise. And don't forget to send me a picture of you in my shirt! I'll be expecting that!" he grinned. Maura laughed and threw him a saucy smile as she wiped the last of her tears and watched him get in his car. He rolled down the window and she leaned in for one more kiss, before he pulled out. He waved to her and watched her stand there waving back as he drove away. He felt his heart break as she got smaller and smaller in his rear view mirror. Tony reached in his shirt and pulled out the gold locket. "I love you, Maura." he whispered as he turned the corner and she disappeared from view. Maura's hand went to the diamond circle that lay beautifully on her chest. She ran her finger along the edge of the circle and whispered, "I love you, Tony."


	7. Chapter 7

**Two years later...**

Maura Isles woke slowly and looked out her window to the harbor below. It was a bright sunny day and she was excited to begin her Saturday. She did her morning yoga and fed Bass and moved around the house cleaning. She pulled out some laundry and smiled as he folded Tony's shirts and pants. He had been over so often she went out and bought him a wooded chest of drawers for all his clothes. He brought her news and regular updates of the team and many pictures. She couldn't go down to DC so she cherished every visit, phone call, letter, email, and text from him. They spent their weekends together making love, touring the city, watching sunsets and sunrises on the harbor dock, taking walks and runs together through the parks and sometimes just laying in bed and watching movies.

Every visit from Tony, Maura could see so many changes in him. He was still just as goofy and silly as before but he was also maturing. He wasn't the immature, obnoxious Frat boy who stayed out late and went to Panama City for Spring Breaks. He was an intelligent, strong man who worked hard at everything he did and he knew his responsibilities and kept his promises. He was different in so many ways, but at the same time he was still the funny, sweet man she fell in love with 4 years ago. He was a man she could maybe see herself starting a family with someday.

Tony was still head over heels in love with Maura. She was sweet and loving and made him incredibly happy. He loved receiving her texts and phone calls and emails. This was by far the longest relationship he's ever had and he was loving every minute of it. He made his way up to Boston as often as he could to spend time with her. She was getting ready to apply to the Boston Police Department as a Medical Examiner and he couldn't be prouder.

He also had almost daily contact with Fornell and the FBI concerning Ziva. Tony didn't know what Ziva's situation was but he was very confused. He was told that Ziva was here on a mission to bring down NCIS and the Navy, but everyday Tony watched Ziva risk her life for the team and American citizens. He liked to tease and annoy her but she was becoming a friend to him. She was his partner and he would lay down his life for her in a heartbeat just as he would for Gibbs, McGee, Abby, or Ducky. Fornell was also confused. Every month he waited for something to happen, something that would give them a point in the right direction to who she was reporting back to. But from what they could tell, she wasn't reporting back to anyone. The rest of the team didn't know of Ziva's intended purpose on the team. As far as they were concerned Ziva was an Officer of Mossad.

Ziva had been with NCIS for two years now. She had grown accustomed to Abby's random hugging, McGee's confusing wealth of knowledge, Tony's teasing and pestering, Ducky's endless stories, and Gibbs... well, Gibbs was a mystery only few really knew about. This was a family. They were an odd and completely dysfunctional family. And now Ziva was part of this family. She knew her father was waiting for reports from her, but she could never bring herself to betray the ones she had grown fond of. She knew Kate's death was hard for them but it also brought them closer and as they became closer they brought her into their little family. This was something that she wasn't used to at Mossad. But she liked being part of something that did good in this world. Everyday she brought criminals to justice and gave closure to victims. She's seen families torn apart only to be brought back together by what she and her team did for them everyday, She was now a part of something that brought families closer not tore them apart as she did in Mossad. How could she continue to be loyal to Mossad when she's now seen the good this world has to offer? Ziva was slowly beginning to question her loyalty to Mossad and instead train herself to answer to NCIS.

It was McGee that was first to notice Tony was in relationship. It happened one day when they were all working diligently at their desks on last minute reports before the weekend. Tony was going to see Maura over the weekend and so he was hurrying to get out of the office before 8. They heard the elevator ding and a beautiful long-legged blonde woman walked towards them. McGee looked over at Tony, expecting to see him smiling and winking at her. But much to his surprise Tony looked up and went back to work on his report. It had become much easier for him to dismiss the old urges to flirt with every woman who crossed his path now that he had Maura in his life. She was everything he needed and he would never even consider cheating on her, despite the long distance between them. McGee was waiting for him to make some sort of obnoxious comment, but none came.

"Hi, I'm Stacey Kay. I was told to report to Special Agent Gibbs. Is he around?" She said as she looked at Tony and smiled cutely. Tony looked up and responded, "Special Agent Gibbs is in a meeting but he'll be around soon. If you want, you can take a seat over there by Special Agent McGee." he said before going back to his report. McGee was stunned. Here was this gorgeous woman trying to flirt with him and he was passing her up...? McGee pulled out a chair for the young woman and looked over at Tony. Now that he thought about it, Tony hasn't really flirted with women since... huh, since Kate's death. 'Why hadn't I noticed this before?' McGee wondered. He thought about the past two years. Sure Tony annoyed the heck out of Ziva but it was always in fun. And yeah, he might throw a couple comments here and there, but not like how he used to... He never came in on a Monday morning bragging about the college girls he met like he used to. Instead, he came in tired from visiting his "friend" Maura in Boston. He had heard Tony many times on the phone with this "Maura" person and he overheard several times Tony planning to go visit her. Who was this Maura? Well, whoever she was Tony was definitely in love with her. What McGee didn't know was that Maura was their former partner and friend, Kate Todd.

"So who's Maura?" McGee asked Tony. Tony looked up from his computer and stared at McGee."What are you talking about?" he asked him quietly.

"Well, I've heard you talking to her several times... I was just wondering how come you've never told us about her..." he broke off seeing Tony's face.

Tony stood up slowly and looked McGee in the eyes. "Tim. Because I like you I'm going to pretend you didn't just ask me that. Who my friends are are none of your business."

McGee was shocked at Tony's serious and dangerous look he gave him. "I'm sorry Tony. I didn't mean anything by it. I was just wondering." he said before sitting down and shooting a questioning look at Ziva who shrugged her shoulders. Tony sat back down and glanced over at McGee who was back to working on his reports with a hurt expression on his face. Shaking his head, he said to him, "Probie, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you. I just don't want everyone asking questions. There are some things I want to keep private." McGee nodded. "It's alright. I understand."

Later that night, (much later, after a long drive to Boston) Tony slipped into bed with Maura. He pulled her against his chest and smiled gently at the little sleepy noises she made as she instinctively curled up closer to his body. He gazed down at her and watched her sleep. Her skin glowed in the moonlight and her hair was fanned out over his chest as she rested her head on his chest over his heart. Tony softly kissed her nose and nibbled lightly on her jaw before tucking her into him and falling asleep.

The next morning, Maura awoke to find herself alone. Confused she looked around to see any clues as to if Tony had come in last night or she was just dreaming. She spotted his shoes and smiled. Maura jumped out of bed and ran down the hallway to see Tony sitting on a chair out on her balcony watching the boats in the harbor. She went out to join him.

Tony turned at the sound of the door opening. He grinned as he saw his gorgeous girlfriend. "Hey, sweetheart. Good morning." he pulled her into a hug and she reached up to kiss him sweetly. "I love you Tony." she said as she wrapped her arms around his waist. They stood there like that just holding onto each other as they watched the boats pull into the harbor. After a while, Tony decided to sit and he pulled Maura down with him so she sat on his lap. She giggled and squirmed on his lap trying to make herself comfortable. Tony chuckled and held on to her so she wouldn't fall off. She rested her head on his shoulder and they sat in silence listening to the seagulls.

"Is everything OK, sweetie?" she asked him. "You seem quieter than usual." Tony looked down at her and smiled gently. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just getting harder to keep this relationship a secret. I love you so much, Maura and I want everyone to know it. I want everyone to know that we're together and I'm yours and you're mine. If I could I'd publish it in the newspaper! And I hate lying to Gibbs... Yesterday McGee asked me who "Maura" was. I guess he's heard me talking to you on the phone. And I snapped at him because I didn't want him to get suspicious. And then I felt horrible for snapping at him..." Tony bent his head in shame. Maura scooted up and took Tony's face in her hands. "I'm so sorry, Tony. I know this is hard for you. I'm so sorry. I never wanted you to have to lie to Gibbs about me." She kissed his lips gently, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks.

Tony brushed her tears away with his thumbs and whispered, "I love you. And this was my choice. I chose to do this because I wanted to make us, this relationship work. And I'd do it all again in a heart beat. I don't regret anything. I just wish I could tell the whole world about us." he said as he softly kissed Maura and pulled her back down so she was curled up in his chest.

"Fornell doesn't know what Ziva's mission is anymore and he's worried. At first she was instructed by Mossad to bring down the Navy and bring down NCIS, but it seems to him that she's doing the complete opposite. Everyday I see her risking her life, saving people, bring down criminals, arresting the bad guys. And everyday she becomes more like a friend than an enemy... I don't get it either." Tony said quietly.

Maura was silent before she spoke. "What if she's changed? What if she was instructed to bring down the Navy but knowing you guys has changed her? People change..." Tony rolled over so he was laying facing her. "You really think so? What will Mossad do to her if they find out she's switched loyalties?" Maura shook her head, "I don't know... they could kill her..." Tony closed his eyes and pulled Maura closer and said. "You would like her. She doesn't take crap from anyone and she could kick my ass any day." Maura laughed. "If she has changed, I hope to meet her someday." Tony smiled. "I'm sure you will someday." he he leaned over to brush a soft kiss over her lips.


	8. Chapter 8

**One year later...**

Over the next year, Tony spent a great deal of time watching Ziva. She acted completely normal and calm. He waited for just hint that would point him in the direction to see who she was loyal to. Mossad or NCIS? After a year with nothing he decided to take the biggest risk of all and confront her.

Gibbs had sent the two of them to investigate a petty officer's house so it was just the two of them. As they were dusting for fingerprints and shooting pictures, Tony got the courage to talk to her about it. "Ziva, what brought you to NCIS?" he asked suddenly. Ziva slowly looked up at him. "You already know the answer to that question, Tony." Tony set down his stuff and walked over to her. "No, I know what you told Gibbs and Director Shepherd. Jenny's dead now, she's not here to back up your stories. Why are you really here?"

Ziva stared hard at him. "Maybe you should tell me what you know." Tony tilted his head, studying her before answering. "I know you were sent here after Kate's death to kill Ari and earn Gibbs' trust. Kill two birds with one stone... but from what I know, you were supposed to be reporting back to Mossad about us in an attempt to bring down the Navy and NCIS. So why aren't you?" he whispered.

"How do you know all this?" Ziva asked him quietly. She was shocked that Tony was spot on with her mission but as far as she knew no one was supposed to know. Tony stared deep in her eyes and said, "I've known since before you came here." Ziva's blood ran cold. "Who else knows?" she asked his calmly. Tony shook his head. "No one at NCIS. Gibbs, McGee, Abby, Ducky, and Vance know nothing. The FBI has been investigating you and Mossad since you came here. "

Ziva nodded and sat down on the couch and motioned for him to sit too. "You're correct. That was exactly my mission. When I first came to NCIS, my mission from Mossad was to bring down NCIS and the Navy. After Agent Todd's death, everyone was vulnerable. I saw you guys at your worst and after a few months I saw you guys rise up to be your best. This team is a family: an odd dysfunctional family but as you guys healed over her death, you brought me into this family. That was something I was not expecting. I was not expecting to be part of a team so closely-knit. It was something I never experienced. But I liked it. I liked being the good guy for once instead of the bad guy. I love this job and I love this team. I've developed these feelings, I guess you could say, for you guys. This team: you, Gibbs, McGee, Abby, and Ducky are the family I never had. I would lay down my life for any of you in a heart beat. I've never reported back to Mossad about anything that goes on here and I never will. I would never betray those dear to me. I do not consider myself Mossad anymore. I want to get my American citizenship and someday become an NCIS Agent. Please, believe me."

Tony was stunned. He looked at Ziva trying to find a lie in her eyes but he saw honesty and loyalty. "I believe you." he said. "But the FBI needs to know. If you've become loyal to NCIS, the FBI needs to know." Tony said quietly. Ziva nodded. "Give me until the end of next week. I need to make arrangements so I'm sure I'm safe from Mossad before I completely turn over to NCIS. They will kill me if they find out I've switched loyalties." Tony nodded. "I'm pretty sure the FBI and NCIS will provide protection as well. You're one of us." And with that the two of them left the house.

That weekend, when Tony made it to Boston to see Maura, he was surprised to see a dark haired woman laying on her couch with a little dog curled up next to her. He went to Maura's room and found her fast asleep. Tony grinned and climbed into bed with her. He slipped his hands under her shirt and caressed the silkiness of her stomach. Pressing little kisses to her neck and shoulders, he smiled as Maura woke and turned in his arms to kiss him back. "Hey." she whispered to him. "Hey, beautiful." he whispered back as he pressed an innocent kiss on the tip of her nose. She giggled slightly before running her hands under his shirt and pulling it over his head, before tucking her head under his chin. "Why's Jane out on your couch?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her tiny body. "Oh, she's here because right now it's not really safe for her to be alone at her place. Long story... so she's staying here with her dog, Joe Friday."

Tony looked down at Maura with worry written all over his face. "Are you guys OK?" he asked hesitantly. Maura looked up at him and rolled her eyes playfully. "Tony, just because I'm not Kate Todd anymore doesn't mean I can't protect myself. I did protect the President and I could still beat the crap out of you." she said with a twinkle in her eye. Tony snorted. "You could not beat the crap out of me. McGee, yes. I remember when you beat up McGee and kicked him in the balls. That was awesome. I was so proud of you." They laughed silently together as they remembered that day. "But you can't beat me up." Tony said confidently. Maura smirked before flipping them so Tony lay on his stomach and she twisted his arm up over his head and pinned it to the wall. Tony let out a squeak before trying to squirm to get away. But Maura was faster. She straddled his back and pressed her feet into his legs and her elbows into his shoulder blades making him yelp. She giggled and leaned over to nibble his earlobe. "What was that you were saying?" she asked sweetly. Tony growled at her playfully before capturing her lips in his. While she was distracted, he pulled his arm around and pinned her so he could turn over and press his body over hers. Laughing he leaned over and gently bit her lower lip. "You can't beat me" he whispered.

Maura struggled and said, "No fair distracting me with kisses." she murmured before pulling his head down to kiss him again. He rolled over and held his beautiful Maura close to his heart while he buried his head in her neck. "I love you, sweetheart." he whispered. Maura held him close to her and whispered "I love you too."

They woke in the morning to the smell of coffee. Tony pulled his boxers and pants on as Maura pulled her shirt and shorts on. Together they went out into the kitchen to see Jane attempting to feed Bass a strawberry. "Maura, he's just weird." she said as she saw Maura. "Oh hi, Tony." Tony grinned at Jane and replied with a sleepy "Hello!" Maura reached around Jane to hand Bass a strawberry which he gratefully took. "Nothing's wrong with him Jane. You just have to be patient and understanding." Jane snorted. "Patient and understanding to a turtle?"

"Tortoise!" Maura scolded. Tony and Jane rolled their eyes and grinned at each other. The loved how Maura defended Bass. Tony poured Maura some coffee and handed it to her planting a kiss on her cheek. Jane smirked at the couple. "Gross guys get a room!" she laughed. Tony smirked and grabbed Maura and kissed her passionately. "Ewww!" Jane laughed. Tony and Maura broke away laughing to see Jane laughing and covering Joe Friday's eyes. Jane got up and grabbed her shoes. "Hey, Maura. Frost is gonna come pick me up here in a couple minutes. Korsak wanted to go over some reports with me." Maura nodded. "OK, let me know if you need anything." Jane nodded but she knew she wouldn't. Jane knew Tony's visits were special so she wouldn't interrupt unless absolutely necessary. The three of them watched the morning news together before Frost came to pick up Jane.

After she left, Maura and Tony cuddled up together on the couch and flipped through the TV finding something to watch. Maura laughed at Tony's little boy eagerness when he found Scooby-Doo cartoons on. They fought over the remote control for the next 20 minutes. Tony wanted to watch Scooby-Doo and Maura wanted to watch her exercise videos. Of course, Maura won in the end. Tony was helpless to deny her anything especially when she looked at him with those big hazel eyes that made his heart rush. But he enjoyed watching her do her exercises...

Later that day, they packed a picnic lunch and headed to the harbor dock. Tony lay sprawled out on the pier and gazed adoringly at Maura as she chatted non stop about her life as a medical examiner. It was weird to think of Maura doing the same thing Ducky does. "Do you talk to your dead patients?" he asked her. Maura laughed and said. "Of course! I did learn a couple things from Ducky!" The couple laughed and looked out over the horizon. Tony grabbed Maura's hand and brought it to his mouth and kissed each knuckle gently. Maura wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. Tony laid back down and pulled Maura on top of him. "I love you." they both breathed at the same time. Tony grinned and Maura giggled as she leaned over to rub her nose against his. Maura pulled away and stood up. "Come on. I want to show you something." she said as she reached down to help him up.

She took Tony down a little dirt path, through the trees. Tony slipped his arm around her waist. "This reminds me of this movie when-" he was cut off as Maura elbowed him in the ribs. "Don't even start about movies." she laughed playfully as she wiggled out of his arms and ran away from him. Tony grinned like a little boy and ran after her. He caught her and tugged her into his arms. She laughed out loud and kissed him before squirming in his arms to run again. This time Tony let her get farther ahead before racing after her. Maura squealed like a little girl when she turned to see him running after her. When Tony finally caught up to her, he reached out to grab her again but this time Maura surprised him by stopping suddenly. He collided into her and the two collapsed and fell into a patch of green grass. They both laughed out loud as they held each other close. Tony kissed her sweetly, running his hands under her shirt to cup her breasts. Maura groaned but pulled away. She leaned over and whispered, "Com on, we're almost there." She helped him up and he took her hand as she led him over another path. Eventually she stopped. "Maura, where are we?" he asked. Smiling, Maura pointed. "This is my favorite spot." Tony looked to where she was pointing to see a tiny little waterfall hidden from view behind huge trees. He followed her through the trees to see a beautiful waterfall and a little gathering of water bigger than a pond but smaller than a lake. There were giant rocks and so much wildlife surrounding it. It was something you only saw in paintings and it took Tony's breath away.

He looked over at Maura who was gazing up at him. She took his hand and whispered, "Come on." He watched mesmerized as she slowly began taking off her clothes. When she was standing in front of him wearing nothing but her bra and panties, he reached for her but she shooed his hands away before reaching up to unclasp her bra and pull down her panties. Maura stood there completely naked in front of him. For about a full minute Tony forgot how to breathe. She stood there as the sun bathed her beautiful body looking like the perfect angel. 'My angel.' he thought as he watched her jump into the water. He watched in awe as she came back up, her body glistening. Tony thought he had died and gone to heaven. She laughed at him as he stood there, mouth open just staring at her.

"You going to join me?" she asked. Tony practically ripped his clothes off before jumping in after her. Maura laughed as he came back up and shook his head like a dog. He pulled her close to him and she wrapped her long legs around his waist. He stood there, holding his sweet Maura close to his body as she gazed up at him. She nibbled on his jaw and giggled when he turned to take her lips in his. He lowered them both in the water but never let go of her body. She was perfect and he never wanted to let her out of his arms. He moaned as she reached down to stroke him. He responded by rubbing little circled over her clit. Before long, they were both desperate, so Tony hitched her up higher by her ass and slowly let her slide down on his erection. They stayed still for a moment, Tony closed his eyes as he felt himself being hugged by her wetness and Maura enjoying the feeling of being filled completely by him. No matter how many times they made love, it always felt like the first time. After a minute, Maura rolled her hips into his signaling that she was ready for him. And there, in the water under the waterfall out in the open for anyone to walk up on, Tony and Maura made love. It was sensual and perfect. They clung to each other as if they were each other's life line and they were hanging on for dear life. They came together, swallowing each others moans as their tongues tangled together. Tony carried Maura to the huge rock and laid her down and crawled up next to her. He reached out and pulled her limp, naked body into his. Maura gathered the rest of her strength to pull Tony's jacket over their naked bodies before laying back down in his arms. She curled up into his chest and he wrapped his arms around her. "I love you, my perfect Maura." he whispered as he tucked her head into his chest. Maura pressed her lips to the base of his neck and sucked lightly. "I love you too, my sweet Tony."


	9. Chapter 9

It was Sunday morning and Maura and Tony were sitting on the balcony playing cards when Maura's phone rang. She got up to get it. "Oh hi Dr. Kramer! Yes... you do? Ok... and that means I am?..." Tony watched at Maura's face lit up. "OK, thank you! Yes, I can be in as soon as possible. Yes, thank you!" Maura hung up and skipped over to Tony. Tony laughed at Maura's enthusiasm. "What's up sweetie?" he asked as he pulled her onto his lap and kissed her. Maura giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. She pressed her forehead against his and looked into his gentle green eyes.

"About two months ago, when you came to visit do you remember that weekend when you took me to that resort...?" Tony grinned at the memory. They had spent the whole time in bed... Maura rolled her eyes as she watched Tony's face light up at the fond memory. "Well" she continued. "after that I was starting to feel kinda queasy and sometimes a little sick in the mornings..." she raised an eyebrow waiting to see if Tony caught on yet. He was just staring at her with a blank expression, so she continued. "Jane told me to take a pregnancy test..." At this Tony's eyes lit up and he felt his heart burst with happiness. He wrapped his arms around her waist tighter and waited for her to continue even though he knew exactly what she as going to say.

"And I took a pregnancy test and it said I was pregnant, so I made an appointment with a doctor to confirm it. And that was the doctor confirming that I'm pregnant with our baby..." she whispered to him. Tony looked like he just had the world handed to him on a gold platter. Maura was going to have his baby! He gathered her up in his arms and hugged her tightly to him. "We're going to have a baby!" he exclaimed as he twirled her around laughing. The two of them spent the rest of the day planning out how they were going to juggle a baby and their jobs and their different locations.

When it came time for Tony to leave, he kissed her and made her promise to call him if she needed anything at all. She promised and also promised to email him the doctor's reports.

Monday morning came and Tony was having a hard time concentrating on his work. His thoughts were with Maura and their new baby. Tony was going to be a father! On his way home from work, he passed a jewelry shop and looked at engagement rings but didn't make any purchases yet. He wanted to look around at some other places first. He needed to find the perfect ring for his Maura.

On Tuesday after talking to Ziva, Tony made arrangements for the two of them to meet with Fornell. Tony was hoping that once Ziva had talked to Fornell he could determine whether Maura could come out of hiding or not. If Ziva was no longer loyal to Mossad, then he didn't see any point for Maura to be in hiding and he could bring her to DC to live with him and they could buy and house and raise their baby together. He grinned at the thought.

On Thursday, Fornell met Tony and Ziva after work at a little bar in Georgetown. He was waiting for them when they got there. After ordering drinks, Fornell turned to the two of them. "So what's up? Tony you said there was something I needed to hear?" Tony nodded. "Yeah, it's actually what Ziva has to tell you." Fornell and Tony sat quietly as Ziva told them her story of how she was sent to NCIS from Mossad to bring down the Navy and NCIS. She told him Fornell everything she had told Tony. When she was finished, she fished through her purse and pulled out a USB flash drive and handed it to Fornell. "This holds everything I have from Mossad. My files as well as Mossad's most valuable information. This will tell you everything you need to know about Mossad, my father who is the Director of Mossad, and how to bring Mossad down. I'm not one of them anymore. I want to be an NCIS agent like Tony and McGee and Gibbs. America is my home. This is where my loyalty lies." she said as Fornell took it.

Tony and Fornell were silent as Ziva produced the ultimate proof that she had indeed switched loyalties. This little flash drive that Fornell held was the key to bringing down Mossad, something they had been trying to do for years. Tony looked up at Fornell who was looking at Ziva proudly. He held out his hand to her and they shook hands. "Welcome to America." he smiled. Ziva laughed as Tony stood up to give her a hug. Fornell called to the bartender "A round for the three of us on me!"

After Ziva had left, Tony looked at Fornell. "So does this mean Maura can come back to DC?" he asked with his fingers crossed. Fornell smiled. "Yes. She can, but I want to be there when she comes back to NCIS. I'm sorry but I have to see everyone's reactions. And if Gibbs shoots you, well, I'll already be on the scene then." he laughed. Tony shook his head at him, "You're a sick man Fornell." he laughed. Over the years, Tony had worked with Fornell, they had become close friends.

That Saturday, Tony and Maura headed to the doctor for the ultrasound. Maura was now 10 weeks pregnant and she was excited to see her baby move. They were getting into the car when Maura dropped her bottle of water and it splashed onto Tony's car. Looking up horrified, Maura fought to hold back tears. Tony wasn't upset at all and reached down to pick it up when he saw Maura begin to cry. He hurried over to her side of the car and wrenched the door open. "What's wrong, sweetheart? Are you hurt? Why are you crying?" he rushed as he pulled her into his arms, looking her over to see if she was hurt. Maura sobbed into his neck, "I'm so sorry Tony. I didn't mean to spill my water all over your car! I won't do it again..." she hiccuped. Tony pulled back and took Maura's face in his hands and looking into her eyes. He wiped her tears away and kissed her sweetly. "You think I'm mad at the water? Sweetie, it's just water. It'll dry, I promise." he said gently as he hugged her tightly. He had hear that pregnant women are very sensitive about a lot of things but this was his first experience with it. After reassuring her that everything was alright, they made their way to the doctors.

Tony and Maura gazed in awe at their baby on the screen. Tony had his arm wrapped around Maura and they were taking in every detail of their unborn child. It was the one of the most wonderful moments of their lives. They couldn't take their eyes off the screen. In just seven months they would be able to hold their precious baby. When they left they got a video and many pictures for the two of them. When they got back to Maura's apartment, Tony helped her pack for two weeks. Maura was going to go back to DC with Tony to visit and go see the team for the first time in almost 4 years. She packed up Bass and her bags and the two of them got into the car.

"Are you scared?" he asked her as they drove on the freeway back to DC. Maura looked over at Tony. "A little." she admitted. Tony reached over and took her tiny hand in his. He pulled it up to kiss the palm of her hand. "I'll be there with you every step of the way." he promised. Maura smiled and reached to her neck. She pulled out the diamond necklace Tony had gotten for her so many years ago. "I know. You've been with me every step of the way for the past 4 years." Tony grinned as he looked at the necklace he bought her and reached down to pull the tiny gold locket he kept tucked safely in his shirt close to his heart. "I wear it everyday." he said as Maura looked at him in awe. They both wore the necklace they had gotten each other. Maura smiled gently as she laid down in her seat. "Do you want to lay down in the back?" Tony asked her. "We won't get in till like 4 in the morning."

"Are you sure you don't want me to drive?" she asked. Tony shook his head. "Don't worry, I've got it." he said as he helped her in the back. He balled up his jacket and handed it to her to use as a pillow. "Sweet dreams, my Maura." he whispered as he checked on her in the rear view mirror to see her falling asleep. He drove the rest of the way to DC thinking about Monday when Maura would come to NCIS and the rest of the team would know their secret. And they would know that Kate never died and Tony knew all along. He was worried he would lose the respect of his team. But most importantly from Gibbs. Tony and Gibbs had been through everything together. They had been there to see each other at their best and their worst. Tony had always thought of Gibbs like the father he never had. He would lay down his life for Gibbs and his team. What if revealing Maura to them changed their opinions of him to them? What if Gibbs threw Tony off the team for lying to him for the past 4 years? Well, he would know on Monday. He was glad Fornell would be there to back him up.

When he arrived at his apartment, he looked back to see his beautiful Maura sleeping peacefully on his jacket. He smiled to himself as he thought of their future together and their unborn baby growing inside Maura's stomach. He gently opened the car door and wrapped her to him and carried her inside as she slept. Tony gently laid her on his bed and took her shoes off. He pulled the sheets down and watched her situate herself in his bed, just like she belonged there. 'She does belong here, with me.' he thought as he tucked her hair behind her ear and pulled the sheets up to cover her. He quickly ran downstairs to get Bass and their bags before she woke to find herself in a strange place and got scared. He got Bass situated and he was finally able to go to bed. He pulled Maura into his arms and the two of the slept til 0700 hours when they got up to go to work.

This was it. Tony was nervous as he thought about the big day ahead of them. He noticed Maura was quiet too. They both knew what each other was nervous about and they silently comforted each other with hugs and kisses. At 0830 hours, Tony and Maura were parked outside the Navy Yard waiting for Fornell. He was going to meet them there. Maura took the time to look around. "It's just like I remembered." she said softly taking Tony's hand in hers. When Fornell arrived, the three of them took a deep breath before making their plans for the morning.


	10. Chapter 10

Fornell decided to wait with Maura in MTAC. They took the back stairs and slipped in as Tony entered the bullpen. When Tony saw that they were out of sight in MTAC, he called Abby and Ducky and Palmer to come up to his desk. He had something to tell them. McGee looked at him curiously but said nothing. Gibbs studied Tony and was intrigued to hear what he had to say. For once, Tony looked genuinely nervous. He waited for the three to come up before he looked around at his team. He closed his eyes and prayed to God they still loved him after what he had to tell them.

"I... uh... I have something important to tell you." Tony looked down at his hands. The team waited patiently for him to continue. They could all sense this was important so they were silent as he gathered the courage to continue. "I'm in a relationship with... a woman... and it's serious." he said as he stalled for time. Gibbs scowled at him. "Did you get our attention to tell us this Dinozzo?" Tony shook his head. "No, I... the thing is you all know this woman. Well, Ziva you don't really know her but you've heard of her. Come with me. I want you guys to meet her." he said as he led them upstairs to MTAC. They all exchanged confused looks. Tony had many relationships, and true none were "serious" but they didn't know what to expect especially when he said they all knew her. Except Ziva. And why would he leave his girlfriend in MTAC?

As the team gathered in MTAC, they were all surprised to see Fornell. Gibbs turned to Tony. "You and Fornell? I thought you said you were in a relationship with a woman. Getting a sex change, Fornell?" he asked. Tony and Fornell looked at each other in disgust. "What? Oh, gross!" Tony exclaimed. Fornell looked at Tony and head smacked him. "What did you tell them, Dinozzo?" Tony looked at his team who all shared similar smirks. "No, I told them I am in a relationship... with a woman and since you were the first person they saw..." he broke off not even daring to finish the sentence and tried to hold back a laugh.

Meanwhile, Maura sat in the shadows silently watching the team. Gibbs was still Gibbs but he certainly had more white hair. Abby still had her pig tails and big black boots and funky clothes. Maura smiled to herself as she took in her best friend. McGee had changed so much. He had lost weight and confidence shined out from him. The way he walked, carried himself, and just the general attitude he generated impressed her. He was no longer Probie. Ducky and Palmer looked the same and she smiled as she took in her old team. Her old family. She spotted a young Israeli woman who she assumed was Ziva. This was Ari's sister. Maura shook her head trying to shake the thought from her head. She had told herself that she wasn't going to judge and instead try to be friendly towards her.

"My girlfriend's name is Dr. Maura Isles. She's a Medical Examiner in Boston." At this, Ducky beamed at Tony proudly. "You all know her because she used to be an Agent here. But when she was here, she was... she was..." he looked to Fornell for help who nodded encouragingly at him. "She was Special Agent Caitlin Todd." he said. He looked at the team who all just stared at him like he had lost his marbles. Tony looked over their shoulders and motioned for Maura to come down. Maura took a deep breath and stepped into the light.

The team watched, dumbfounded as Maura (or Kate as they knew her) walked over to them and smiled nervously. She stood next to Tony who took her hand in his. "This is my girlfriend Dr. Maura Isles also known as Kate Todd." None of the team knew what to say. They stared at Maura like she was a ghost. Abby was first to react. She slowly went up to her and looked deep into her eyes. This woman, Maura, was different but some of her features were still Kate. Her hazel eyes and her nose and her mouth... Her hair was longer and had blonde and light brown highlights. But her eyes were Kate's gentle eyes. "Hi Abby..." Maura said. Her voice was Kate's too... Abby gently held out a hand and touched Kate's face seeing if she was a real person. "But you died..." Abby said trying to convince herself more than Maura. Maura shook her head. "I didn't die. My death was faked."

"I think we'd all like to hear about that." Gibbs said as he stared at Maura trying to read her. Abby let her tears fall as she hugged Maura tightly. They stood like that, the two of them silently crying on each other's shoulders. When they pulled away, Abby wiped her tears and said, "I missed you so much, Kate." Maura smiled gently. "I missed you too Abs. So much. I'm so sorry, to all of you. I never wanted to hurt any of you but Fornell will explain the reason behind it to you." she said as Fornell nodded. McGee finally shook himself out of his frozen state and reached over to hug Maura. "Wow... I missed you so much Kate." Maura held McGee close and whispered to him. "I'm so proud of you, Tim. You have so much confidence. You're no longer Probie!" she laughed. The team laughed and Tony said, "He'll always be Probie!" Maura turned to hug Ducky. "My dear Caitlin..." he murmured as he gently stroked her hair. "I missed you and your stories, Ducky." she whispered to the elderly man. "I missed you too little one. Yes, this reminds me of..." he broke off and looked out at the team. "Actually, I don't have any stories for this one." he laughed. Everyone laughed at that, including Gibbs. Maura turned to hug Palmer who awkwardly hugged her back. He wasn't used to getting hugs from beautiful women that weren't related to him. Finally, Maura turned to Gibbs. They stared each other down until Maura surprised them all by throwing her arms around the older man's neck and hugged him. "I missed you too, Gibbs." she whispered in his ear. Gibbs was shocked at first. Abby was the only person of his team that had ever hugged him. He looked down at Maura and smiled before hugging her too. "I missed you too, Kate." he said gently.

Maura turned to Ziva and smiled warmly. Everyone held their breath as they watched Maura and Ziva. They didn't know what to expect. What do you say to the sister of the man who tried to kill you and force you into hiding? And what was Ziva supposed to say to Maura, 'I'm sorry my brother tried to kill you and you had to go into hiding for the past almost 5 years and leave behind everything while I was supposed to be taking down your government?' But Ziva looked at Maura's outstretched hand and soft smile and she knew she was forgiven. Much to everyone's surprise, Ziva pulled Maura into a hug. Without words, the two women shared a mutual understanding of the other and accepted that what happened was in the past. Nothing can change the past. Tony watched with pride. Maura was going to have no trouble getting along with Ziva.

They pulled apart and Maura looked around at her family and smiled. Almost 5 years had passed but they welcomed her back with open arms. They all smiled back at her as they welcomed her back into their lives. Whether she was Dr. Maura Isles or Special Agent Kate Todd, she would always have a place in their hearts.

Abby turned to Tony with hurt in her eyes. "Tony, you knew...? All these years, you knew Kate was alive? And you were spending time with her! And you didn't feel the need to tell us!" she exclaimed as she looked at him. Tony knew this was coming. However, Fornell spoke up. "He was given direct orders not to. This was an FBI protection detail. He was acting for us." Gibbs also turned to Tony. "So, you're FBI now Tony?" he asked quietly. Tony shook his head. "No, Boss. I'm NCIS and always will be. I've always been loyal to NCIS. But I'm also head over heels in love with Maura and if teaming up with the FBI was what kept her safe, then yes, that's what I'll do. And if it makes you feel better, the only FBI agent I agreed to work with was Fornell." Tony said. Maura moved over to Tony and he wrapped his arm around her waist. Gibbs looked at the young couple and decided he could not be mad at Tony for this. Gibbs would do the same thing for the woman he loved. Gibbs nodded slowly and shook his head and smiled at them. "Alright. Just don't let it affect your work." Tony's heart swelled with happiness as he leaned over to kiss Maura. McGee watched amused. He wasn't used to seeing Tony and Kate (or Maura as she was now called) kissing and holding each other. He kept expecting her to elbow him in the ribs and yell, "Dinozzo!"

Tony turned to Abby. "Abs, please don't be mad. I couldn't tell you guys and it killed me everyday." he said as he reached out to her. Abby smiled warmly at him and threw her arms around his neck. "It's OK Tony. I understand. I didn't know..." McGee, Ducky and Palmer smiled warmly at Tony letting him know that he was forgiven and all was well. Gibbs turned to Fornell. "I want to know everything that happened in the past 5 years." The team all took a seat while Fornell, Tony and Ziva explained everything. They decided that it would be best if Ziva explained her part. Fornell showed them the flash drive Ziva gave him and Tony explained his part in Kate's fake death. The team sat and listened for the next hour. When all three of them were done with their story, Gibbs stood up. "You're lucky I don't shoot you Fornell." Fornell smiled and joked "I wouldn't put it past you, Gibbs." Then Gibbs turned to Ziva and stared at her before grinning and shaking his head. "Well, I think it's time we got you signed up to take the test to be an American citizen." Everyone grinned but the biggest of all was Ziva's. She knew her actions could be could be considered treason and unforgivable but here was Gibbs letting her keep her job and helping her become an American citizen and soon she could be an NCIS Agent!

Tony turned to Maura and nibbled lightly on her earlobe before whispering, "I love you, sweetheart." Maura turned and kissed him fully on the lips. "I love you too." He laced his fingers with hers. "Should we tell them about..." he broke off but rubbed her stomach. Maura grinned and whispered "Don't you think they've had enough surprises for one day?" Tony shook his head. "Nope. And plus, Gibbs has developed this vein in his neck that pops out when he gets stressed. It almost came out twice already. I'm pretty sure this bit of information will bring it right out." he joked. Maura burst out laughing. "That's so mean!" she giggled in his ear. Tony laughed and said "Come on it'll be fun..." Maura giggled and said "Ok, yeah... I have to see this."

Tony pulled Maura up and wrapped her arm around her. "Also, we have one more announcement. We're going to have a baby!" Tony's voice was drowned out by a loud squeal from Abby. Maura and Tony looked over at Gibbs and sure enough he was glaring at Tony with a red line forming on his neck. Maura and Tony looked at each other and laughed as everyone got up to congratulate them. When Gibbs approached, they fought to keep a straight face. He just glared at Tony and then without warning he smacked the back of his head. When Tony recovered from the initial shock of the head slap Gibbs smacked him again and pulled Maura into a hug. He leaned over and whispered. "If he hurts you, you let me know and I'll kick his ass." Maura laughed and Tony looked at Gibbs in amazement. He gets smacked around and Maura gets hugged. Not fair... Gibbs turned to his team. "Any other surprises? McGee are you secretly dating Paula Cassidy?" McGee shook his head and laughed. "No Sir." Gibbs turned to Ducky. "Duck, you dating Jenny?" Ducky laughed. "Not that I'm aware of!"

Ducky took Maura's arm in his and said, "Anthony had mentioned you are a Medical Examiner..?" Maura smiled. "Yes! I work for the Boston Police department doing basically the same thing you're doing. I was lucky that I was provided an amazing tutor who was able to accelerate my doctorate so I just started last summer. But I could always use some extra practice and tutoring." she said. Ducky puffed out his chest proudly and said "Well, my dear. I believe that can be arranged. It would be an honor." Maura smiled and kissed the old doctor on the cheek. "She even talks to her patients, Ducky" Tony said. Everyone laughed as Ducky blushed. "I am flattered Caitlin. Would you like to accompany me to autopsy? I have this dead Petty Officer and I could use a second opinion."

"Not now Ducky." Gibbs interrupted. "Lets all go for lunch, my treat." Everyone stared at Gibbs. This was a new side of Gibbs they had not ever seen. As they all made their way downstairs, Maura took a moment to look at her old desk. Ziva's jacket was draped over the chair but everything still looked the same. She looked over at Tony's desk and wasn't surprised to see a stack of paperwork waiting for him. McGee's desk was nice and tidy as well as Gibbs' desk. Shaking her head, she smiled. Some things never change. She turned to see the team watching her closely. "It's almost just how it was when I left." She stared at her desk when a thought popped into her head.

Turning to Ziva she asked. "May I...?" Ziva nodded. "Of course." Maura sat at her old desk and looked around. She smiled as she remembered sitting here having food fights with Tony and the two of them flicking paperclips at McGee... she leaned over and ran her hand along the underside of the drawer. She was amazed when her fingers hit the very thing she was looking for. She was stunned no one had found this... The team looked at her curiously. She pulled out the picture of Tony that Abby had photo-shopped for her when Tony had gotten his hands on a picture of her at a Wet T-Shirt contest when she was in college. She laughed as she gazed down at the picture to see "Tony" dressed as a gay cowboy. Smirking at Tony, she held up the photo for him to see. Everyone burst out laughing. Tony blushed and looked around at the team. "That's not me!" he yelped. He tried to grab the picture but Maura held it out of his reach. "Maura... don't..." he grimaced as she held it out to Ziva. "Just in case you get bored..." Ziva laughed and hugged Maura. "I might be getting bored soon." Tony made another attempt to grab it but Maura elbowed him in the ribs as Ziva locked it in her drawer and patted Tony's cheek. "Don't worry, you'll see it soon." she laughed. Maura hugged Tony as he made sobbing noises. 'My life is over...' he mumbled. As they all made their way to the restaurant, Maura linked her arm in his. "I'm surprised you didn't try to show them my Wet T-Shirt picture." Tony grinned and wrapped his arm around her waist and held her close. "No way. Only I'm allowed to see you like that." he said possessively. Maura laughed and kissed him playfully.

As they all settled down to eat, Abby turned to Maura. "So are you Dr. Maura Isles or Kate Todd? I mean either way you're still my friend but I'm not sure what to call you. And are you staying here in DC or are you going back to Boston?" Maura shook her head. "I don't know what I'm doing yet because I have responsibilities and commitments in both places... I haven't really had much time to think about it..." she said thoughtfully. Fornell said, "Well, we can reinstate your passport and ID's and Social Security number. All you have to do now is chose: Dr. Maura Isles or Kate Todd?"


	11. Chapter 11

The rest of the day went by fast and enjoyable for Tony. After lunch, Gibbs made him and Maura go home. After promising to the team that they'd see her again, Tony drove them back to his place. But Maura was silent thinking about what Abby asked her. Who was she now: Maura Isles or Kate Todd? She loved Boston and her job there as a Medical Examiner. And Jane, Frost, Korsak and Frankie had become her closest friends especially when Tony wasn't there. She had just gotten the job at the Boston PD. But she loved Tony more. Tony was everything to her and now that they were going to have a baby together, they couldn't have so many miles between them.

Tony knew Maura was thinking her options through and so he let her be, but pulled her into his arms and kissed the tip of her nose sweetly. "I love you and I'm here if you want to talk." Maura wrapped her arms around Tony and laid her head on his chest. She listened to his strong steady heart beat and she closed her eyes against the whole world. She just wanted to be with her Tony. She never wanted to leave. Tony tilted her head up and kissed her. Maura walked them to the couch and Tony laid down before pulling Maura down with him. He tucked her small body into his and whispered in her ear how much he loves her and how beautiful she is. Maura ran her fingers up to tangle in his hair before pulling him in for a kiss. "I love you Tony." she murmured against his lips. Tony pulled her lips in for a kiss. "I love you too, Maura. I'll always love you. You're my everything and wherever you go, I'll be there. If you want to move to Boston, I'll go with you. I promise." Maura's eyes filled with tears as she made up her mind. Tony had just promised her everything. He just promised her his heart and his whole world. She kissed him softly. "I would never want you to give up your job at NCIS. I want to stay here in DC with you and we can raise our baby here. And who knows, if they let me I'll go back to Boston in the summer and help out if they need me. But wherever we are together, that's home. And I want to stay here and be Kate Todd again. Maybe I'll help Ducky..." she said thoughtfully. Tony was overjoyed and kissed her hard before tucking her head in his chest. "But I'll have to be Maura Isles when I go back to Boston." she said. Tony laughed. "Yeah, that would hard to explain to the Boston PD." Kate and Tony grinned at each other.

They were interrupted by a scuffling noise. They looked down to see Bass on the floor, "I think he likes the idea of moving here." Kate laughed. Tony nuzzled her neck and said. "You said you wanted to go back to being Kate Todd... What about Kate Dinozzo?" Kate pulled away and stared down at Tony. He grinned and reached over to his bag and pulled out a black velvet box. He opened it and Kate gasped as she saw the most beautiful diamond ring. "Will you marry me, Katie?" Tony asked her using her old nickname he missed being able to say. Kate felt the tears gather in her eyes as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Of course I will!" she whispered into his mouth as they kissed passionately. Tony pulled Kate into his lap and wrapped a strong arm around her waist while the other held her body to him. "I love you, my sweet Katie." he whispered into her mouth. He pulled away and took her hand in his. He slipped the ring on her finger. It was a perfect fit.

Kate and Tony spent the rest of the day making arrangements to move Kate's stuff back to DC and get her passports and ID's reinstated. They also began looking online for a house for the two of them and their new baby. At around 5, Tony ordered some Chinese food and the couple laid on the couch watching some old black and white movies. Kate laid on her side with Tony behind her. He had his arm circled around her waist and was softly rubbing the silky skin of her stomach. If Tony laid his hand flat on her stomach he could feel a tiny little bump where their baby was growing. Kate smiled and placed her hand over his. Her wedding ring glistened in the light. Tony was overjoyed. His beautiful Kate was moving back to DC and they were going to find a house together and have a baby. His life was exactly where he wanted it. Kate didn't think it was possible to be any happier. She was pregnant with Tony's baby and they were going to move in together and get married!

She wiggled her hips and pressed her back into his chest. Tony closed her body into his and protectively wrapped her into his arms. Kate closed her eyes and slowly drifted to sleep with a small smile playing at her lips. Tony listened to her even breathing and slowly he began to fall asleep.

They woke up the next morning and Kate decided she'd go to work with Tony and let the team know her decision. Perhaps, Ducky will let her help him in autopsy. And she'd love to hang out with Abby and catch up over the past 5 years. Tony and Kate held hands as Tony drove them to work. "I think I'll also get to know Ziva more." she said with a smile. "I like her." Tony looked over at Kate with a look of horror. "Oh no! You and Ziva do not need to spend more time together! You guys are like double trouble. Especially after yesterday! I still can't believe you gave her that photo..." he growled playfully. Kate laughed. "I can't believe it was still there. No one found it when my desk was cleared?" Tony shook his head. "We don't normally look for anything taped to the underside of desks. But we will now!" They laughed together as they pulled up to the Navy Yard. Kate told McGee, Gibbs and Ziva her decision to stay and go back to being Kate Todd but she'd be returning to Boston for the summer to work with Detective Rizzoli and the Boston PD. "But I'll come back in September to have the baby." she said. Abby squealed with she saw Kate and then shrieked with delight when Kate told her the news. Everyone was happy to hear Tony and Kate's news. Ziva was congratulating the couple when she noticed the engagement ring on Kate's finger. "Oh my... you were not wearing that yesterday..." Abby screeched when she saw the engagement ring. "No way...? You guys are getting married?" Abby looked like her birthday and Christmas just came on the same day. Kate wrapped her arms around Tony and kissed him. "Yes, we are."

Ducky was pleased to have Kate working with him and Palmer in autopsy. Palmer was very nervous. He had always thought Kate was pretty but she looked gorgeous with her hair longer in gentle waves down her back and her designer clothes. She had definitely changed her style of clothing from the last time he saw her. Fortunately, Ducky and Kate talked to each other during the autopsy while Palmer assisted. Kate, Abby and Ziva spent several hours down in Abby's lab exchanging stories and jokes that happened during their separation. Ziva told Kate about coffee she bought Tony that turned his teeth blue which made her double over in laughter. Abby told Kate about how she and McGee put a recording of a dog barking in his keyboard so when he typed, a dog barked. Kate couldn't remember the last time she had laughed so hard. By the end of the day, her ribs were sore from all the laughing.

Over the next couple months, Tony and Kate did everything to prepare for the baby. They decided not to get married til after the baby was born. They found a little town home in Georgetown Virginia and after a month they decided to move in. It was a busy weekend. The whole team pitched in to help them move. They had gotten all the furniture and boxes to their new place and the week Kate, Abby and Ziva put up pictures and all their inside decorations. At the end of the week, when the move was complete Tony and Kate decided to have the team over for a barbeque. Tony showed off his barbeque skills to McGee who took mental notes so he could barbeque for Abby and impress her with his skills. Kate and Abby worked in the kitchen making coleslaw and desserts. Kate peeped into the living room to see Gibbs and Ziva and Palmer setting up some of the baby furniture. Ducky and Fornell sat on the couch engrossed in a fierce battle of Scrabble. Kate felt an overwhelming sense of peacefulness as she looked out over her "family." She knew she made the right choice by staying in DC. This was her family. It was these people that she wanted to spend her days with. These were the people who she wanted to raise her baby around. She gently rubbed her stomach and smiled gently thinking about her and Tony's futures. She was lost in thought until Tony came up behind her and pulled her into his arms. "What are you thinking about?" he whispered.

Kate turned in his arms and nibbled on his lower lip. "Us... our crazy family... our babies..." she grinned as Tony rubbed her overly-swollen tummy. They had found out they were having twins. A boy and a girl. They were ecstatic about their babies and couldn't wait for the arrival. Next week Tony and Gibbs and McGee were going to paint the babies room. They decided on blue, green, pink and white. They still hadn't come up with names yet, but they had some picked out. After many long talks, Kate and Tony decided that when the babies were born Kate would become a full time mom, but if needed she could help out with profiling suspects from home. Two babies were going to take a lot of time and Kate did not want to hire a nanny. She wanted to be the ones raising her babies. Her and Tony and the team. Tony smiled as he felt the babies kicking in her stomach. Leaning over he said to them, "Hey there! What did I talk to you guys about kicking Mommy? You two are going to be double trouble, aren't you?" he talked to her tummy. Kate giggled and threaded her fingers in his hair. "Just like their Daddy." she said with a smile. Tony looked up at her indignantly. "I'm very well behaved!" Kate rolled her eyes and smirked. "Yeah, like yesterday when you and McGee were pretending to have "spa treatments" while eating your salads and you put the cucumbers over your eyes? That's very mature, Tony." Tony laughed and said, "That was McGee's idea!"

McGee looked up at his name. "What was my idea?" Kate sighed as she said, "Your and Tony's 'spa treatments' yesterday with the cucumbers from your salads." The team laughed as they remembered coming into the bullpen to find Tony and McGee laying on the floor with cucumbers over their eyes and half eaten salads next to them. Tony and McGee grinned sheepishly. Gibbs shook his head. "I swear sometimes I feel like a kindergarten teacher..." Kate laughed along with the team and shook her head. She felt like the luckiest woman alive right now as she looked out as their family sat down to eat dinner.


	12. Chapter 12

Tony sat at his desk playing with photo shop. He was currently entertaining himself by adding elephant ears to McGee's photo and chuckling as he gave added raccoon eyes. He looked up in time to see Ziva smirking over his shoulder and he whirled around to see Kate and Gibbs standing over his shoulder. "Oh... hi sweetie, hi Boss... yeah I was just getting to work." he said as he shut down photo shop and opened his email. Kate and Gibbs shook their heads as they made their way around Tony's desk. Kate went over to Tony and leaned over to put her arms around his neck and kiss him. "OK, I see you're not going to be allowed to play with our kids without adult supervision." she giggled. Tony snorted and pinched her hip. "Didn't you have errands you needed to run this morning?" Kate sighed. "I do. I just don't want to. I have to get some more groceries and probably pick up some more diapers..." she added thoughtfully. Tony rolled his eyes. Kate was now just almost nine months pregnant. The babies were due any day now and Kate was fretting and making numerous trips to the store for things she was certain she would need when the babies were born. "Sweetheart, I'm surprised the state of Virginia still has diapers in the stores. I was pretty sure we bought the last of them last weekend. I think we have enough." Kate shook her head. "You can never have too many diapers; especially with twins." Tony rolled his eyes and kissed her neck. "Yes dear." He had learned that sometimes it was best to just say 'yes dear' and let her have her way. But he loved giving in to her. To see her smile and her eyes light up made him the happiest man alive.

Kate stood up and grabbed her purse. "Alright, I'm out of here. Call me if you need anything." She leaned over to kiss Tony. He grabbed her hips and rubbed her very pregnant tummy. "You guys be kind to Mommy. She's been very tired lately. There's been so much movement in there." he murmured against her stomach. Kate giggled and rolled her eyes at Ziva who was making cutesy faces at the couple. Tony jumped back as one of the babies kicked him right where his mouth was pressed against her stomach. "Hey! they kicked me!" he growled playfully. Kate and Ziva burst out laughing while McGee and Gibbs watched amused. Kate went over to McGee to give him a friendly kiss goodbye on the cheek and the same with Gibbs. Ziva got up to give her a hug goodbye and made her promise to call them if she needed anything. Kate promised and waved bye before leaving.

She had just gotten the groceries home and put away when she felt a flood of water rush between her legs and looked down to see her water had broken. Panicking, she stared down at the puddle of water for about a minute before a swift kick from inside her stomach reminded her that there were two impatient babies wanting to get out. Kate grabbed her phone and dialed Tony's work number.

Tony was sitting at his desk working on reports when his phone rang. Checking the called ID, he saw it was Kate and immediately picked up. "Hey babe, what's up?... Now? OK, yes! I'm on my way!" McGee, Ziva and Gibbs all stopped working and looked up at Tony. "Was that Kate? Is she OK?" McGee asked. Tony looked around at his team and said dramatically, "I'm gonna be a father! Her water just broke!"

Gibbs tossed McGee the van keys. "Get the van McGee. We'll all meet Tony at the hospital. Ziva, go get Abby, Palmer and Ducky. I'm gonna go inform Vance our team will be out for the next couple days." They all leapt into action while Tony grabbed his stuff and raced to the elevator. His beautiful fiance was going into labor and needed him with her. He drove like a mad man to the house which luckily wasn't that far. Kate was waiting for him by the front door with her suitcase. Tony helped her in the car and got her suitcase in. Kate looked around to make sure the two car seats were installed. Seeing that they were, she turned and grabbed Tony's hand. Tony squeezed her hand. "It's OK, sweetheart. I've got you. We're gonna do this." Kate smiled at him and noticed he was sweating profusely. "Are you scared?" she asked him. Tony looked over at Kate and said. "Terrified." Kate's heart went out to her sweet Tony. She knew this wasn't easy for him. She brought his hand up to kiss his knuckles like he did to her to comfort her. "We're going to do this together." she reminded him. "I'm here for you too." They smiled at each other encouragingly. Kate shut her eyes and squeezed the life out of Tony's hand as she felt a contraction. Tony felt his heart break to see his beautiful Katie in pain. He turned on the siren in his car and sped to the hospital as cars moved out of the way for them. Kate laughed through her pain. "That's only for emergencies." Tony kissed her hand. "This is a big emergency."

As they pulled up they saw the NCIS team waiting for them with a nurse and a wheelchair for Kate. Tony stopped and without even closing his door, rushed to help Kate out and into the wheelchair. Kate smiled bravely at their family and took Tony's hand as the nurse wheeled them in. McGee stayed behind to park Tony's car properly in the parking lot. He came back in to see everyone sitting in the waiting room while Tony and Kate were in the hospital room having their babies. After about an hour Gibbs remembered he forgot to call Fornell. Since Kate had come back, Fornell had been part of their little family. He was always invited to their get-togethers and he had become the only FBI Agent their team would work with. Gibbs made his phone call and after about 30 minutes went down to the cafeteria to get some coffee which he ended up throwing away. It tasted horrible.

He was getting into the elevator when Fornell and two of his agents stepped in carrying several cartons of Panda Express. "Hey Gibbs. Though I'd bring you guys lunch. Hopefully you guys didn't eat yet." Gibbs grinned. "Thanks Tobias." he said. Fornell also handed Gibbs a cup of his favorite coffee. "Thought you could use this too." Gibbs took it gratefully and sighed as he sipped it. Spying a big bag in one of the agents hands, Gibbs motioned to it. "What's in the bag?" Fornell laughed as he said sheepishly. "Just a few things I collected for the baby over the pregnancy... And Abby's stuffed hippo. When you called we were pulling up to the Navy Yard and I decided to grab her stuffed animal. I'm thinking she might need it before Kate's finished in there." Gibbs burst out laughing. "You're going to officially be her favorite FBI agent." he said as they disembarked the elevator.

Abby nearly knocked Fornell over as she launched herself into his arms when he held out Bert for her. She gave the hippo a giant squeeze which made the little kids in the waiting room laugh loudly as he farted. Fornell and his agents passed out plates and opened up the containers of food. They were all eating when Tony came out looking flustered. Fornell handed him a plate of food which he took gratefully. He informed them that Kate was nearly there but she wanted him to make sure everyone out in the waiting room was OK and to give Abby a hug. "Oh, that's our Kate. Always thinking of everyone else first." Abby shook her head as Tony reached out to give her a hug. Abby held out Bert and Tony gave him a squeeze much to the delight of the children before he thanked Fornell for the food and headed back to Kate.

It was another 3 hours before Tony appeared looking tired but happy. His eyes were bright and a big grin took over his face as he announced. "You are looking at the proud father of two healthy babies. Aaron and Aubrey Dinozzo!" Everyone applauded and then burst out laughing as Abby squealed and hugged Tony. "I'm so happy! How's Kate?" Tony smiled. "Kate's fine. Exhausted but incredibly happy. She wants to see everyone."

"Can we all come in at once?" McGee asked. Tony laughed at that. "Well, at first the nurse didn't want everyone in at once, but Kate threatened her and after being cussed and yelled at by Kate for the past 5 hours, the nurse didn't want to make her angry again." They all laughed and Gibbs turned to Fornell and said, "Remind me to send all the nurses who worked with Kate flowers for this." Fornell grinned as they all followed Tony to their room.

Kate lay propped up on pillows as she held two babies, one in each arm. She looked up and grinned at them before whispering hello. The team filed in and each took in the tiny babies. Tony moved behind Kate and wrapped her and their babies in his arms. They all looked down at the sleeping babies. Aubrey already had a tuft of dark brown hair just like her mother and Aaron looked sleepily around at his visitors. Tony took his son in his arms and held him out for Abby to hold. Abby cooed gently at him for a while before passing him to Ziva. Kate shifted and kissed her baby girl on the head before letting Gibbs hold her. Tony and Kate watched proudly as their family oohhh-ed and awww-ed over their precious babies. Tony studied Gibbs' face carefully while he held Aubrey close to him. Tony knew he was thinking about Kelly, his daughter. He watched as a sea of emotions passed over the older man's face while he held the tiny baby. Reluctantly he handed her over to Fornell. But not before whispering something to her. Tony was curious as to what he said but he decided he'd ask him later. Kate smiled at Abby who came to sit by her. "You brought Bert with you?" she laughed. "Oh no. Well, kind of. Fornell brought him. He knew I'd need him." Kate laughed as she took the farting hippo and squeezed. "He's been farting all day. The kids in the waiting room get a kick out of him." McGee said. Everyone paused as they heard low singing in Hebrew. They all turned to see Ziva sitting in a chair slowly rocking Aaron to sleep and singing in Hebrew to him. Even though no one knew what she was singing about, they all listened attentively. When she was finished she looked up and was surprised to see everyone staring at her. "What?" she asked.

"Nothing." Gibbs said. "It's just nice to see you cuddling something besides a gun and a knife." Ziva rolled her eyes and smiled as she stood up and handed the baby boy back to his mother. Kate took him and asked Ziva "What was that song about?" Ziva blushed and replied. "It was a song my mother sang to me when I was a baby. It's about a baby bird who no matter where he flies, there's always someone there to keep him safe from the evilness in the world." Kate smiled and said, "I liked it." Tony smiled as he looked down at his son. "I think he did too. He's fast asleep!"

The team left Tony and Kate for the rest of the day. They had a cot rolled in for Tony and he laid down next to Kate. Kate lay down in his arms and she cuddled Aaron while Tony held Aubrey protectively over his heart. He stroked Kate's hair and closed his eyes as Kate began to sing their sweet babies to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**6 years later...**

Tony slowly drove home as he contemplated the past 10 years of his life. He had a kick-ass job, 3 beautiful children, a dog, one of the best teams in the world that consisted of all his closest friends, and most importantly a beautiful wife who loved him unconditionally and whom he loved with everything he had. After 6 years of marriage, Tony and Kate had most certainly made it through the worst and the best together. Sure, they still fought and bickered like crazy but they loved each other and knew at the end of the day it was going to be OK.

He slowly pulled up to his and Kate's two-story house they had moved into the year before. Turning off the car, he glanced up to see his beautiful Katie through the window. She was singing and dancing with their baby Caleb in her arms while Aaron and Aubrey bounced and laughed happily around her. Tony grinned as he watched his family. This was the reason he got up everyday. For moments like this. He saw their german shepherd, Maverick jump up and begin dancing on his hind legs. Tony burst out laughing as Maverick knocked Aubrey over. He got out of his car and grabbed his bags. After being out of town on a case, he was excited to be with his family again. Gibbs had given them all the week off. This last case took a lot out of them and they were all eager for a week vacation.

The moment he stepped in the door he heard a high pitched squeal from Aubrey. "Daddy!" He dropped his bags and knelt down as his daughter and son catapulted themselves into his arms. Tony picked them both up and placed kisses all over their faces. The sound of his children's laughter was a sound he never got tired of. As he put them down he looked up and his breath caught in his throat. There stood his gorgeous wife, Caitlin Dinozzo. She was wearing a pair of jeans that hugged her hips in a way that Tony was sure should be illegal. And her red top accented her lips and made her look more kissable than ever. Kate tilted her head and studied him while he stared open mouthed at her. After a minute she grinned and shook her head. "Aren't I going to get a hello hug and kiss?" she teased. Tony shook his head to clear his thoughts and slowly stood up and pulled her into his arms. "Absolutely..." he whispered as he took her lips in his. He wrapped her up in his arms and lost himself for a moment until the sounds of "Ewww..." filled his ears. Kate and Tony pulled away slightly to look down at Aaron and Aubrey covering each others eyes and grinned at each other.

"OK, we're finished." Tony said. As soon as they uncovered their eyes Tony pulled Kate in for a big slobbery noisy kiss. "EWWW! Daddy that's so gross!" they squealed as they ran from the room. Kate and Tony burst out laughing and Kate handed Caleb over to his Daddy. "Hey little man." Tony cuddled his son. Caleb shrieked with delight to see his Daddy. Kate laughed as Tony blew raspberries on his stomach making Caleb squeal. Tony laughed and pulled Kate in for one more kiss. "I missed you sweetheart." he whispered as he reached down and squeezed her ass. Kate giggled and squirmed away. "The children are in the other room." she reminded him before playfully grabbing his ass and heading back into the kitchen. She turned and threw a saucy wink at him. Tony grinned and stood rooted to the floor as he watched his feisty wife disappear from view. He turned to Caleb who was happily drooling all over Tony's shirt and said. "Your mother is a dangerous woman!"

Later that night after dinner, Tony came into the living room to see Kate rocking a sleeping Caleb and Aaron and Aubrey coloring on the new coloring book Tony had gotten them. He smiled as he leaned against the doorway and observed his family. Maverick was laying by the kids, keeping a watchful eye on them to make sure they didn't eat the crayons. If anyone was going to eat the crayons, Maverick wanted to join in. He saw Tony and sat up and thumped his tail on the floor. Kate looked up to see her handsome Tony standing there watching them. She smiled and stood up. "OK, guys. It's bedtime." she said softly to Aaron and Aubrey. She hadn't seen her husband for a week and was eager to get some alone time with him. "But Mommy! I'm not tired." Aaron whined followed by a huge yawn. Kate rolled her eyes and said. "I think you are."

Tony grinned at his son and daughter and pulled each one up in his arms. Holding Aubrey under one arm and Aaron under the other, he laughed as they squealed and tried to get away. Kate burst out laughing at her kids and shook her head as they headed upstairs. They made their first stop in Aubrey's princess room. Gibbs and Tony had made her a pumpkin coach bed. It was huge and took half her room but Aubrey loved it. Tony gently laid down his daughter and kissed her forehead. "I love you, princess." he whispered. "Love you too, Daddy." she said. Kate leaned over and kissed her goodnight. "I love you too, Mommy." Kate rubbed her nose against her daughter's nose and said. "I love you sweetie." Tony bent over and plugged in her night light that Uncle McGee had made for her. McGee had made her a computerized nightlight that hung from her fan. As it rotated, pictures of castles and unicorns and little princess filled her walls as soft music played.

Their next stop was Aaron's room. Tony had looked everywhere for a bed frame of a red Ferrari just like the one from Magnum pi, the best show ever in Tony's opinion. He softly tucked his son in and kissed him. "Sleep tight, Buddy." he whispered. Aaron wrapped his little arms around his Daddy's neck and pressed a kiss to his cheek. "Love you Daddy." he said. Kate kissed her sleepy son and whispered how much she loved him. Aaron hugged and kissed his Mommy and said, "Night Mommy!" Tony turned on his nightlight which McGee made him. It was just like his sisters but his was race cars that drove around his room. Just as Tony and Kate were turning to leave they heard a sleepy little voice. "Oh Daddy! I did what you said and I protected Mommy and Aubrey and Caleb while you were gone. Just like you said to Daddy. I was the man of the house." Tony grinned and replied. "Yes you did, Buddy. And you did a great job. I'm proud of you!" Aaron was already half way asleep but Tony and Kate saw his sleepy little smile as he processed what his father had said to him.

Kate linked her arm through Tony's as they walked to Caleb's room next to theirs. "You asked him to be the man of the house and protect us while you're gone?" she said with a smile. Tony grinned and shrugged. "Yeah. Before I left he asked me if he could go with me to fight the bad guys and I told him it was dangerous, but if he wanted to help has to stay here and protect you guys. He seemed very excited to be able to 'fight the bad guys.' Kate laughed. "He absolutely adores you." Tony's heart swelled with pride at Kate's words and he watched as she gently laid their 2 month old baby down in his crib. Gibbs had gone out and bought every jungle like stuffed animal he could find. So Caleb's room was filled with panthers and parrots and leopards and everything else you can find in a jungle. His nightlight from McGee had every jungle animal you could think of glowing softly on his walls. Tony held Kate in his arms as together the two watched their baby sleep peacefully. They each leaned over and kissed his head sweetly before turning to go to their room. Now that they kids were asleep, Kate and Tony had some time to themselves.

As soon as their door was closed, Tony attacked Kate with kisses. He gathered her in his arms and laid her on their bed. The two of them lost no time getting their clothes off. Tony threw all the pillows on the floor and pulled the blankets down. Kate wiggled her way between the sheets and Tony took a minute to stare at the gorgeous brunette laying naked in his bed. He took in everything from the way her ruby red lips grinned wickedly up at him to the sparkle in her eyes. His eyes traveled down to the swell of her breasts and further still to the smooth skin of her stomach and her nicely toned legs. Shaking his head he grinned at Kate and said, "I am the luckiest man in the world." Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his head down to kiss him passionately. She whispered in his ear, "Get under the covers with me and I'll make you even luckier..." Tony quickly scooted under the covers with her and rolled her so she was laying on top of him. He pulled her down and kissed her.

Several hours later, Tony and Kate lay among a mess of pillows and tangled sheets. He was laying on his back and Kate was curled up in his chest, their naked bodies pressed against each other. Tony was slowly running his hand down her soft back and Kate was tracing little circles on his chest. She turned her head and pressed little kisses to his chest. He squirmed as she reached his ticklish spot and she giggled as he tried to stop her. "Katie, you are going to be the death of me..." he groaned. Kate lifted her head. "But what a way to die, huh?" Tony pulled her up and kissed her. "Damn right." he whispered. "I love you so much, Katie." Kate rubbed her nose against his and whispered in his mouth. "I love you too, Tony. So much." She rolled them over and she curled up in his arms and laid her head over his heart. Tony wrapped her tightly to his chest and kissed the top of her head. "Sweet dreams, Katie." And the two fell asleep in each others arms, listening to sound of each others hearts beating together.

**The End.**


End file.
